Mutation
by cheshirecat9116
Summary: Dahlia Carter was a beautiful 18 year old starting collage in New York. Her life was changed when Sevarius combined animal genes with hers in an attempt to create gargoyle-like creatures for Xanatos changing her life forever...
1. Chapter 1

**Author's voice: A Mutation Story I created for Gargoyles. Please don't sue me for anything... All the Gargoyle charters belong to their respective owners (disney and marvel) Please comment! Enjoy**

"Aghhh my head..." I mumbled as I sat up. Crap! Where the hell am I? I looked around, I was in some sort of enclosure but made out of glass in some sort of lab..."Hello?! Hello is anyone there?" I tried standing but my hands and feet were tied to a wall "Ah... I see you are awake..." a voice sounded from the corner. I turned and saw a middle aged man staring at me. "Who... who... are you?" I asked, scared now. "Where are my manners? My name is Anton Sevarius and you must be?" "Dahlia...My name is Dahlia... Please let me out..." "Let you out? Now, why would I let a beautiful young specimen like you out..." he slurred. Specimen? I was really scared now... Looking at my body I noticed a huge bruise on my shoulder. "What...What did you do to me?" I whispered. The man Sevarius laughed loudly. "Oh Dahlia my darling, you are to become part of our new science project." This isn't funny let me out!" "I'm sorry but there is nothing you can do and there is no way back once those chemicals are in your body which they are... You have no other choice than to accept your fate. I assume that you must be curious about what his happening to you. Well it's quite simple. You will become part of our new science project." "Science project? What the hell are you talking about?! You can't do this! It's crimes against humanity!" I yelled back trying to break free of my restraints. He laughed again, that horrible cold laugh... "Crimes against humanity? Oh trust me in less than three days you'll be anything but human." With that he switched off the lights and walked out of the lab leaving me alone in darkness.

I couldn't see anything in the darkness and this made me even more afraid. I pulled with all my strength on the ropes but they were too strong and tied too tight on my wrists. The only result of my effort was that I scraped off the skin on my wrists. I was forced to give up. Lying on my side on the cold floor I started crying. What had I done to deserve this? Just a day ago, I arrived from San Francisco to start collage in New York and now... I stopped thinking. My body began to feel very warm and I felt tingles and arches all over it. It was like I could feel the chemicals flowing through my veins. Twenty minutes later, I started to salivate... a lot... It disgusted me and I had to sit up to prevent any of the drool from landing on myself. I watched as thick gooey liquids fell from my mouth to the floor... What the hell has he done to me? Feeling exhausted, I drifted off into uneasy sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's voice: Next chapter please comment!**

I woke up to a searing pain in my mouth. I looked up and my eyes met Sevarius's. He was in the enclosure but how did he get in? I shivered when I saw what he was carrying. In his hands he was holding a plier, in another, a bucket. In that bucket was a tooth, my tooth covered in blood. Before I could scream, a guard suddenly grabbed me from behind, forcing me into a seating position. Sevarius then shoved a wooden plank in between my front teeth. "I'm sorry Dahlia, but this is all for your own good... Don't want you chocking on your old teeth when your new fangs come..." I helplessly endured on the painful attack on my body... Fangs? What is this man doing to me? I screamed mentally over and over when each of my perfectly shaped and colored teeth was taken from me... When the whole ordeal was over, Sevarius suddenly withdrew the piece of wood and the guard released his grip on my head. I tried to scream but my vocal cords wouldn't respond. My mouth was filled with blood and I had to spit it out. The pain was too much and I was no longer thinking clearly. I started to moan from the pain in my mouth. "You better rinse you mouth out with some water, " I heard Sevarius saying. Obediently, I swallowed some water into my pain-filled mouth and spat it out into the bucket that Sevarius held just under my chin. I did this twice before I greedily drank some of that precious water. Sevarius laughed at my pathetic state. As he walked out, he turned to look at me. "It isn't over yet darling, the worst is yet to come..." I sat there in the darkness whimpering and crying dreading whatever that was going to happen next.

Around midday, I felt pain around my jaw area and there was this strange feeling that my lips and nose were puffing up. As more time passed my lips felt extremely wet and I could see that my dainty nose become larger bit by bit. I grimaced as saliva was drooling uncontrollably from the corners of my mouth and I soon had difficulty breathing through my changing nose. What was this man turning me into? I had to know... Hesitantly I stuck out my tongue. "Wow..." I was astonished how far I could actually get my tongue out of my mouth. Disgusting myself, I started to explore the outside of my mouth and nose with my new tongue. My upper lip seemed to have become one piece with my nose and nostrils were larger and they felt wet inside. Then it hit me... My face, my beautiful face was gone... and some sort of ugly muzzle replaced it! Suddenly a new kind of pain emerged. Razor sharp fangs started protruding from my gums once again causing my throat to fill with blood. When it stopped managed to run my finger across them. They were huge! Monstrous! I was in shock for minutes, my head rocking back and forth banging it against the wall while constantly saying the word, "No, no, no, no" My thoughts raged in my head like a swirling tornado and I started to hyperventilate there and there, praying that somebody, anybody would find me.

In what seemed like ages later, I suddenly, without warning collapsed onto the floor. My skin... it was prickling, causing me to shake uncontrollably. It continued for about twenty minutes and it stopped, so did my shaking. Oh my God! Can I just die now? Taking a deep breath, I slowly pushed myself upright. I screamed when I saw my body... I was covered in fur, short golden fur, with black spots. My already long hair was now longer reaching too my waist. I could feel my ears reshaping themselves moving upwards... and my hands... They were hideous. My fingers had lengthened slightly and they had thickened. Rough leathery pads covered the bottom and when I flexed my fingers sharp claws shot out. Tears welled up in my eyes... this man was turning me into some kind of monster. Defeated, I placed my furred head on my furry knees. I was a monster! A hideous monster... No one is going to recognize me...no one... I'm a freak... Sobbing, tears rolled down my furred cheeks. I thought about my family back in San Francisco. My mum and dad, all our arguments about me becoming a zoologist instead of a lawyer just seemed so faraway... and my ten year old sister Elizabeth... oh God Elizabeth would I ever see her again?


	3. Chapter 3

My crying was interrupted when Sevarius entered the lab, followed by a young woman with blonde hair. Rage overtook me and I let out a loud hiss causing both the young woman and I to jump back in surprise. I covered my mouth, or more accurately my snout. Did I just make that inhuman noise? Damn it, what the hell was I turning into? The young woman was staring at me. She had a horrified and disgusted look in her eyes. Instinctively I bared my fangs at the woman causing her to take a couple of steps back. "No need to be frightened dear... Dahlia over there is perfectly harmless..." Sevarius slurred as he led her to the other side. "What... what is... she?" the woman asked. "An experiment..." Sevarius answered coolly. Without thinking I growled at that. I grabbed my throat... ughh what the hell was I doing? Growling and snarling... I'm not an animal so why am I acting like one... Shaking my head I continued listening to their conversation. "I need you to hold still Maggie... this injection is for scientific purposes..." I heard Sevarius say. My eyes grew wide. "NO!" I roared pulling against my restraints. Too late... she was injected. I watched as Sevarius carried her unconscious body over to the enclosure. Swiping a card at the door of my enclosure he dumped her body opposite me. Then he did something I did not expect... he released the ropes around my wrists. Bad mistake... with blinding speed I pinned him to the wall of my enclosure. "I...AM... GOING...TO... KILL...YOU..." I snarled slowly. Sevarius laughed, infuriating me even more "Trust me my dear you wouldn't want that..." pressing something on his watch. I felt electricity flow through my entire body and I fell in a crumpled heap on the floor. "As you can tell I have taken dire precautions to micro chip with you an internal tazer so this... doesn't happen..." he slurred dusting his shoulders. "You're a monster..." I growled softly. "No my darling... you are..." he laughed as he exited the enclosure.

Minutes later, the woman stirred. "Oww..." she mumbled taking one look at me, she let out a horrified scream and quickly shuffled her feet to back herself into the corner. Rolling my eyes, I slowly approached her, bringing myself to a non-threatening sitting position. "Hey its ok... I'm not going to hurt you..." I whispered. The woman starred at me. "You... you can talk..." she asked in surprise "Of course I can... My name's Dahlia... What's your name?" I asked gently. "Maggie...Maggie Reed. I'm from Ohio...Aghh" noticing her bruised arm she looked at me. "What... What did they give me?" she asked. There was fear in her voice. I sighed... there was no point in lying at this state...after all... "What they gave me..." I whispered. I watched Maggie as she did a double take. "No! No!..." She screamed and started banging her fists against the wall. "No stop! You're hurting yourself!' I grabbed her shoulder. "GET AWAY FOR ME!" she screamed as she pushed me away. "You're lying...you're lying... you have to be..." she whimpered still banging. I turned away. She didn't want my help... she feared me. I didn't blame her... after all I wasn't even human now...I retreated back into my corner and cried myself to sleep.

Hours later, ``I started screaming in agony. Two bumps were making their way through my back and one through my spine. I saw Maggie look at me in horror as two bat -like wings pushed themselves out of my skin, I screamed over and over as they grew larger. It was like my spine was being ripped from my flesh. I collapsed onto the floor shaking and shivering as cold sweat travelled down my neck to my torso. The bump on my back started pushing out and it collided with my jeans. The pressure between my spine and my jeans grew and grew until I could hear the fabric on my jeans tear. I grimaced as I felt the bump push its way through the small hole in my jeans. Hours seemed to grow by and the bump grew longer and longer and worse I could feel fur growing around it. "Now I really am a monster..." I thought sadly as I curled my new tail around me.


	4. Chapter 4

Hours later, I started screaming in agony. Two bumps were making their way through my back and one through my spine. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Maggie look at me in horror as two bat -like wings pushed themselves out of my skin, I screamed over and over as they grew larger. It was like my spine was being ripped from my flesh. I collapsed onto the floor shaking and shivering as cold sweat travelled down my neck to my torso. The bump on my back started pushing out and it collided with my jeans. The pressure between my spine and my jeans grew and grew until I could hear the fabric on my jeans tear. I grimaced as I felt the bump push its way through the small hole in my jeans. Hours seemed to grow by and the bump grew longer and longer and worse I could feel fur growing around it. "Now I really am a monster..." I thought sadly as I curled my new tail around me.

The next few days weren't easy for Maggie or me. I watched helplessly as Sevarius removed her teeth. Every time I tried to stop him, he would tazer me... Each time Maggie transformed, I would do my best to comfort her. Initially she still didn't want my help but the more she changed, the more accepting she became of me. We sat there in the darkness staring at each other. "So you were human once too?" she suddenly asked scotching next to me. "Yes...I came to New York to start collage and..." " Collage?! How old are you?" she asked surprised. "I just turned eighteen..." "Eighteen... you're not even an adult..." "Yeah well...no one's gonna miss a teenager plus I told my parents I never wanted to see them again so..." "I told my parents the same thing..." I turned to look at Maggie "really?" "Yes, they never wanted me around... so one day I hopped onto the bus and left Ohio for New York with twenty two hundred dollars... I wanted to become an actress... but I found no acting jobs and I spent all my money so..." her voice trailed off... "I'm sorry..." "No I'm sorry, I...I...Treated you. ..Like... like...dirt ...and..." "Hey its fine..." We both sat there in silence just enjoying each other's company... That night, while we were sleeping my sharp ears caught the sounds of doors opening. "Maggie ...Maggie ... wake up...wake up..." I whispered shaking her wings. "What...what is...it?" "Um, I think our enclosure is unlocked..." Her golden eyes open wide. "Open it..." she commanded. "Um I don't think we should..." I muttered uncertainly. "Why Dahlia? It might be out only chance to escape..." "Something's off ... Maggie, I mean...I have been here for ages and then all of sudden the guards are careless? It doesn't add up..." Maggie pushed the door open..."If you're not going to escape I am..." and she bounded off. "No Maggie!" I bounded after her. I heard alarms go off in the building and gunshots being fired... What the hell was I doing? Swallowing my fear I ran faster...

By some miracle I got out of that freaking building alive. "Maggie! Maggie!" I called out in darkness. There was no answer... a gust of wind blew... Ahhh it's been so long since I've been outdoors. Sniffing, I found out I could differentiate Maggie's scent from... well everything else. Following my nose, I ran into the darkness. "C'mon she couldn't have gotten far... " I thought. Out of the corner of my eye I saw what looked like an upright cheetah running next to me. "Aghh! I yelled as I shielded myself. To my surprise, the upright cheetah did the same thing. Peering closer to the shop window, I lifted my arm, the thing in the shop copied me, I stuck out my tongue, it did the same thing...No it couldn't be... I nearly chocked in near hyperventilation. The cheetah was me... "No...No...No "I thought. It was the first time I had seen my reflection since I was human and I couldn't believe how much I've changed. My face was virtually non-existent. A cheetah's face, complete with a snout and fangs replaced it. My once grey eyes were now bright amber, and they were enhanced by black markings and tear streaks. Brown tipped ears poked out of my long raven hair. Bat wings, huge bat wings grew from my back and a long tail swished back and forth between my legs. "DAMN IT! WHAT THE HELL AM I?!" I roared. Without thinking, I punched the shop window. I watched in horror as the fragile glass shattered at my feet. "Hey you there!" a woman with dark hair and a red jacket called. "Oh boy..." Turning I made a quick dart into an alleyway I mean what else could I do? "Hey Stop!" My tail lashed in the air as I ran along the side of the building. "Stop!" I ignored her, as much as I wanted to stop and get help... What was the point? I'm going to scare her, heck I even scared myself...Stopping was not an option. "Bang! Bang!" I screeched to a halt. Crap! Was that a gun? "Bang! Bang!" The woman just fired another two warning shots...It was a gun... I had to stop either that or get shot...Slowly... I backed into a dark corner with my arms raised.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's voice: Hello readers... Sorry about the long wait... Its the exam period and I've been burning the midnight oil... But anyways here is the next chapter :) Please comment and review :)**

It's ok... I'm not going to hurt you...Just come into the light where I can see you..." the woman cooed. "All evidence to the contrary... Trust me, for your sake, you don't want that..." I growled. Ughh I need to stop doing that... "And why wouldn't I?" she asked suspiciously. "I'm...uh...different...Not exactly... normal..." She laughed. Did this woman have a death wish? "What's so funny?" I demanded angrily. "Trust me, as a cop I've seen many strange things, I doubt you're any different... Plus, judging from your voice, you're just a kid so you better do as I say or you're going to have a lot of explaining to do when I ring up your parents..." "YOU DON"T KNOW ANYTHING... AND I DON'T HAVE ANY PARENTS!" that came out as a roar, causing both of us to take a couple of steps back. "I'm sorry...I'm just... look ...trust me I think its better if you just left me alone..." I apologized as I wrapped my wings around my shoulders. "Please let me help you..." the woman pleaded gently as she offered her hand. I gave up, this woman really had a death wish..."Ok, but don't say I didn't warn you..." I stepped into the light and braced myself for the panic screams that would escape the woman's lips... None came. Instead she shook my deformed hand. "I'm Elisa Maza..." she smiled. "Um...Dahlia...Dahlia Carter..." I mumbled still surprised from the lack of shock Elisa was showing. "So Dahlia, are you a ..." "THERE SHE IS!" I panicked. Those were the guards from Sevarius's lab! I turned to Elisa. "Please you can't let them take me! Please I'll tell you everything just don't...Aghh..." a bullet scraped my arm drawing blood. Why is everyone in New York shooting bullets at me? "C'mon!" Elisa instructed as she grabbed my hand. She led me through a couple of narrow alleyways and streets until we arrived in front of a red car. "GET IN!" she cried. I did as I was told and we sped off. Sirens kept sounding from a distance. No matter what turn we took they seemed to know where we were going... "There's a tracking device on you, I can hear it... Take it off and throw it out of the window! Hurry!" Tracking device? Oh right the bracelet that was always on my arm after I was locked up in Sevarius's lab. Ripping it off my arm, I threw it as far as I could. After a while the sirens died down. "Ok I think we lost them..." Elisa mumbled. Turning to look at me, she gestured for me to calm down. "It's ok Dahlia... Look, I'm going to bring you back to my apartment and we're going to have a little talk why armed mercenaries were after you ok?" I nodded as I tried to clean up my wound, it just wouldn't stop bleeding... We drove into a fancy apartment complex. "Can you fly?" Elisa asked as she parked the car. "Um...No..." "Ok there goes that idea, here..." She handed me her red jacket. "Drape it over your head, and fold your wings over yourself like a cape... "Yes mam'" I did all that... and felt perfectly ridiculous. Together we walked into the building.

Well let's just say I never want to repeat that experience again... It was both terrifying and depressing. Terrifying because we never knew when someone would scream "MONSTER!" and have me recaptured. Depressing because it just reminds me of how much Sevarius ruined my life. When I was still human, there was a time where I could walk down the street, and boys would holler my name, wolf whistle and ask me out on dates. Now that will never happen... never again... Elisa would shield me whenever someone walked past, why was she being so nice? I mean, who would do that, protect a cheetah, human, bat hybrid that you meet on the street and bring her to your house? New Yorkers are crazy... We took the lift up to the top floor. It was an awkward lift ride. To my relief, we finally entered her apartment. Elisa gestured for me to sit down next to her. Gingerly, trying not to squash my tail, I sat. Reaching for something in a cupboard Elisa pulled out some wet wipes and bandages. As she approached me I backed away. I still wasn't sure if she was a friend or a foe..."Whoa easy...I'm not going to hurt you...I just want to look at your wound" Hesitantly I raised my bloody arm for her to see... "Hhhm its just a scratch, it'll heal in no time...Ok this may sting a bit..." gently she wiped my arm clean and bandaged it. "Thanks..." I mumbled "No problem...So Dahlia... Are you a gargoyle?" she asked casually. I choked...What did she call me? "Um... A gargoyle... Like the stone statues that sit on buildings? I don't think so..." "ELISA!" two huge shadowy beings landed on her balcony. "Speak of the devil..." I heard Elisa mumble...

As the shadowy beings walked in I yowled in terror...They were demons! The stuff of nightmares! One was red with a huge snout and had a flowing white mane; while the other was teal in color and had a hairless head with three horns running over the center, small bat wing like structures for ears and a huge belly. Both had long tails, muscular arms, weirdly angled feet and huge bat like wings. "Another one?" the teal thing... exclaimed. "Ahhh!" I screamed as I leaped off the couch and onto the mantle knocking over a flower vase with my tail. That thing tried to grab me! "Whoa...Dahlia calm down... Calm down..." Elisa said gesturing wildly while the two demons looked at me with dumbfounded expressions... "They're my friends..." "YOU KNOW THEM?!" I screeched. "Yes...I told you I've seen many weird things... so please I need you to calm down..." I slipped off the mantle, my fur still standing at their tips. "Dahlia...meet my friends, Brooklyn..." she gestured at the red demon, "and Broadway..." she turned to gesture at the teal demon. "Hi!" the teal demon waved cheerfully. Awkwardly I waved back "I'm so dreaming right now..." I mumbled shaking my head. Elisa laughed "that's what I said when I met their clan leader Goliath..." "They're more of th...you? I asked. "Barely..." Brooklyn growled. He looked upset. I felt bad..."I'm...I'm sorry?" "Don't be... It's not your fault ... But the big question is what...I mean who are you...And why were armed soldiers after you "Elisa asked. I sighed I didn't like where this was headed...My situation was so... embarrassing...Maybe I could lie and say I was part of a mythical race of flying cat people...Yeah right that would be convincing...Brushing my bangs apart I looked at Elisa..."My name is Dahlia Carter... I'm eighteen...and I was human like you..." "Wait...You're human?!" all three of them asked at the same time... "Yeah...I WAS human ok?! Big deal... I was kidnapped the first night I arrived in New York, drugged and experimented on... turned into some cheetah, bat hybrid freak against my will, for what purpose...I... I don't know...Armed soldiers came after me... because I escaped... " I started crying. God, this was so pathetic... why me? "Where the hell did I go wrong..." I snarled. Elisa wrapped her arms around me...How could she bare to do that... I was a monster... "Hey...you're not a freak ...And you're not in the wrong... Whoever did this to you is going down..." "Um, I hate to destroy the moment but its almost dawn and we need to show the clan something...you in or you out? Brooklyn growled. "I'm in...I'll meet you guys there... " Elisa declared putting on her jacket and running out of the door. "Me too... I would love to meet the rest of the clan..." For the first time I saw Brooklyn smile. "I'd be glad to show you to them..." I watched him jump off the balcony and fly off..."C'mon...I'll teach you how to put you're wings to good use..." Broadway said as he led me to the balcony. I can't believe I was afraid of Brooklyn and Broadway, I mean, they were quite nice and...WAIT! BALCONY?! WINGS TO GOOD USE?! OH MY GOD!"NONONONOOWaiitwaitwaittwaitwait... I'M AFRAID OF HEIGHTS..."I screamed as he threw the both of us off the balcony.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's voice: Please review!**

I closed my eyes and waited for the life changing impact... None came...Slowly, I lifted an eyelid...I don't believe it, I was... flying above New York...it was beautiful...and the sensation was wonderful. " "Having fun?" Broadway asked. I laughed... "The most I ever had!" "Good! Spread your wings, I'm gonna let you go now!" Before I could react, he released his firm grip on me. Instinctively my wings flexed open and I soared forward. I giggled. This was wonderful... beyond anything I had ever imagined... Feeling curious, I experimented. I found out, if I flapped my wings I'd move forward. To change direction, I had to tilt my head in the direction I wanted to go. To stop, I had to go into a standing position... It wasn't as easy as it sounds, the first time I tried, I forgot to flap and both Broadway and Brooklyn had to glide down and catch me to prevent me from plummeting into the ground. I started liking my wings and before I knew it, I could fly as fast as Brooklyn... "Show off..."he mumbled "Jealous?" I teased as I overtook him... "Of you? No..." he teased back as he sped off.

We soon arrived at an old clock tower, my landing was an utter failure and I ended up crash landing on Brooklyn. "My horns..." he grumbled as I helped him to his feet... "Sorry about that...Ahhh!" I screamed as what looked like a huge grey bulldog with horns and a beak came bounding over... "Easy Bronx..." Elisa commanded, as she stepped out with a huge... no colossal sized gargoyle. He resembled Conan the Barbarian but with lilac skin and of course bat wings and a tail. "You must be Dahlia..." he rumbled, his voice was as deep as the ocean. "I'm Goliath..." he bowed... "Pleased...pleased...to...meet you..." I said bowing back. "Ok, ok since you all know each other, can you all just listen to me?" Brooklyn grumbled still massaging his horn. We gathered around him, apparently he and Broadway had found Maggie. They tried to help her but Sevarius's goons recaptured her and attacked them leaving them no choice but to flee. "She was so frightened...Brooklyn concluded "Yeah...of us..."Broadway declared rolling his eyes. "She needed our help..." "Are we talking about the same person? From where I was standing I'd say she didn't want our help..." "SHE WANTED MINE!" Brooklyn snapped. "Whoa, somebody has a crush..." I thought. "Guys... guys, don't take it personally, Maggie scares easy, it took her days before she let me get near her and I was her cell mate..." I said trying to comfort them. "Anyway lover boy tore this off her wrist..."Broadway mumbled handing Elisa the exact same bracelet that I threw out her car window... "Well it's a tracking device...digital, long range, expensive..."Elisa observed. "The symbol was on the ambulance too..." Broadway mumbled..."Gen-U-Tech..." "Hey...I remember now...I was held captive in that building..." "That confirms it...Ok...I'll stop by Gen-U-Tech later when I'm on duty...C'mon Dahlia you can camp in my apartment for the time being and we got to go...Its dawn...Bye guys..." "Um...bye.." I waved as I followed Elisa down the steps. I turned to look at the gargoyles one more time...to my surprise they had turned into stone...Weird...well, who was I to talk? "Something wrong?" Elisa called from below... "Um... I think our friends just turned to stone?" I said as I clambered down the stairs. Elisa laughed. Does this woman ever get unfazed? "Yeah, they do that, its like hibernation for them...Here, you know what to do..." she tossed me her red jacket... I sighed, draping it over my head I proceeded to follow her out of the clock tower and into the car. It was still early so we didn't see a lot of people. Sitting at the back, I pulled the red jacket off my head and rested against the seat... "Take a nap Dahlia, you look like you need one..." Elisa suggested starting up the car... I complied. I was tired... That was the most insane night I'd ever experience... Being hunted... Getting shot... Meeting gargoyles, flying over New York... When did my life go Looney tunes? Shutting my eyes I drifted into sleep.

The rest of the day went pretty normally, which was kind of strange for me because I was locked up in that crummy lab for almost a week, well according to Elisa's calendar anyway... While she went away too research on Gen-U-Tech I spent the day playing with her cat Cagney and cleaning up her messy apartment, just a little way too show my thanks... Noticing the sun setting, I stood up and made my way to the balcony. I sighed with happiness as the wind blew through my long hair and fur... It felt magical... Spreading my wings, I took a deep breath and then... I threw myself headfirst over the railing.

Closing my eyes... I giggled in delight as I felt the familiar rush of air. Opening my eyes, I opened my wings and yelled in triumph as I soared upwards...This time without Brooklyn rushing us, I had the luxury of taking my time... I flew over, central park, the Hudson River and feeling brave I did a few twirls around the statue of liberty and when I started feeling tired I sat on her head... This was amazing! I could see the whole of New York! Lying down I proceeded to take a good long look at the city... I didn't bother about tourists who were on the statue, I was too high up... The only way someone would see me is if they climbed onto the statue's head... And who would be dumb enough to do that? "No freakin' way..." Turning my head, I came face to face with a teenage boy around my age... "Holy..." "Watch out!" Too late, the douchebag had slipped... And he was now slipping to his death... Hastily I leaped off the statue...folding my wings so there would be less friction I swooped down and grabbed his outstretched hand..."Hrrrrr..." I growled as I desperately tried to keep us both in the air. This guy weighed a ton! "Oh my God! I'm gonna die...I'm gonna die..." he whimpered. "WILL YOU SHUT UP?!" I snarled as I frantically flapped my wings. Slowly but surely I managed to get the both of us back onto Lady Liberty's head... I lay him down gently and out of exhaustion I proceeded to collapse next to him... Panting wildly I saw him turn his green eyes to take a good look at me... We sat there... staring each other...None of us daring to move... Slowly, not taking my eyes off him... I backed away centimeter by centimeter... Soon, I was close enough to the edge to take off. Turning my head, I was about to fly off when..."Hey wait..." he yelled. "What?!" I snapped. He raised his hands as if to show that he was harmless... "Nothing... Look you saved my life, the least I could do is thank you..." I raised an eyebrow, what game was he playing here? "Why?" I asked. He looked at me confused. "What do you mean why? You saved my..." "I'm a freak... Why are you talking to me..." I growled suspiciously. Cocking his head he ran his fingers through his long tousled brown hair. After repeating that action twice he inched closer to me... "True...You're a bit freaky... But you're really cool...I'm Jason...Pleased to meet you..." he declared sticking out his hand. Slowly I shook his hand. "Dahlia..." "So Dahlia, you from around here?" "What's it to you..." I shot back. God, why am I being so unfriendly? "Sorry... I'm just... No I'm not from around here... I was from San Francisco..." "San Francisco... Land of the arts...Sounds wonderful" Jason grinned... "It was..." I mumbled. I saw Jason turn to look at me. Concern was written all over his face. "What happened..." I closed my eyes... "This happened..." I growled... thumping my tail down. Silence... "So you were..." "I gotta go..." I mumbled while standing up and expanding my wings. "Hey! Wait..." "Yes?" I asked turning my head... "Can I see you again? Tomorrow...Same place? Please..." I looked into those gorgeous green eyes and smiled "Ok fine... But promise me you won't tell anyone about me?" "I promise...Bye Dahlia..." "Bye Jason..."


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's voice: Hello readers...This is getting hard cuz there are so many gaps that occur in the metamorphosis episode so I'm trying to fill it up and its difficult so if you hate this chapter please don't hate me... Hate it, Love it review and I'll do my best to improve... Ok thats it, enjoy :) **

"Gotta be more careful...I can't be spotted like that anymore..." I said aloud as I flew towards the clock tower. As I neared the clock tower, I tried to remember how to land... Sticking my legs out I managed to land perfectly... on my face... "Oww... Kay Bronx, nice to see you too..." I laughed as the gargoyle hound started slobbering all over me..." "Dahlia? Is that you..." I heard a familiar voice call out. "Yeah Broadway, I'm here with Bronx..." I grinned as the familiar friendly face walked out of the shadows along with Lexington. "Where are the others?" I asked noticing the emptiness of the clock tower. "Brooklyn and Hudson are out on patrol...Goliath is with..." "Elisa" Lexington cut in. "Hhhm, oh well... Any of you hungry, because I'm starving!" I announced rubbing my growling stomach. "Yeah!" Broadway announced. I grinned, "Ok so do you guys have a kitchen or something?" "Yeah, but we only have some bread cheese and ham..." Lexington groaned. "That's ok, we can make pizza..." I declared following Lexington and Broadway. Making the pizza with the two of them brought back nostalgia. They reminded me of my two cousins. Always joking and teasing each other... but I had enjoyed teaching them how to make home made pizza, sure they goofed around a lot and threw food at each other and me, but they reminded me of how to have fun again...How to be human again...

The rest of the clan soon returned Elisa included. She looked angry. "What's wrong?" I asked. "I don't trust Sevarius... He's definitely lying about something..." she grumbled pacing back and fro. "Can't you arrest him?" Both Brooklyn and I asked at the exact same time. She shook her head. "There's no probable cause..." I glanced at her. "Aren't I a probable cause? I mean... look at me!" She sighed..."Technically Dahlia you are, but how do I bring you to Gen-U-Tech in broad daylight without causing an unholy fuss? Plus, even if I could arrest him, I bet a man like Sevarius has good lawyers... If we lost a court case against him you could go back to his custody...legally... Or worse, you'll be studied by other scientists..." I growled. She was right. "You're right, I don't want that..." "Leaving you out of the picture I don't have enough evidence. Without enough evidence my hands are tied..." she confessed sadly. Brooklyn shoved me aside. He looked really really angry. Man, this guy had the hoots for Maggie. He glided to his post. "Well mine aren't..." he growled as he turned to stone. "That was intense..." I mumbled. "No kidding...So what do you want to do now? I have at least 6 hours more before I start duty..." Elisa said placing her hand on my shoulder. "I don't know...Want some pizza?" I asked. "That sounds great, pizza for breakfast..." she laughed as we made our way to the kitchen.

"So how exactly did you meet the gargoyles?" I asked offering her a piece of pizza. "Hmm... It was like a year ago... I was investigating a case of unauthorized weaponry in David Xanatos skyscraper. Xanatos being the scumbag he is, lied..." "Wow, you and this Xanatos guy really get along don't you?" I asked sarcastically. "You don't understand. Xanatos is like the recreation of Snidely Whiplash. He can lie, cheat and manipulate his way through anything... Anyway his alibi was suspicious so I went snooping around his castle. Bronx cornered me first and Goliath scared me, causing me to fall off the skyscraper..." "That must have been fun..." I mumbled... "Yeah so Goliath glided down and caught me, so through Goliath I met the rest and yeah..." "Wow...sounds a lot less dramatic than mine...But falling off a building doesn't sound fun..." I grinned munching on pizza. "Yeah... Anyway since I told you my story, tell me yours..." I gagged. "C'mon you know my story..." "Not all of it" "Ok...Ok fine, I was from San Francisco, born and raised... My parents were lawyers, famous ones. They were always very busy so they never exactly took time to look after my sister and I" "I'm sorry to hear that, but what amazes me is that you're able to enter college when you're eighteen... Most people start when they're twenty. I know I did..." I shook my head. "My parents had high expectations. Anyway I won a scholarship to attend collage in New York when I was in high school. I wanted to be a zoologist, I loved animals...So much that when I was a kid I wanted to become one...Um kind of ironic yes?" I joked pointing at myself. Looking at Elisa' face I stopped smiling "Ok bad joke..." Clearing my throat I continued. "Anyway, my parents were really mad at me. They wanted my sister and I to um... follow in their footsteps you see. They threatened to take away my scholarship. I couldn't risk that...All my hard work... My dreams of the future... So one night, when my parents brought my sister out to a concert, I snuck away... I had bought my own plane ticket and withdrew my life savings weeks before I ran away." Arriving in New York, I walked around looking for a suitable place to crash. I guess Sevarius or one of his goons recognized I was a tourist of some sort and they kidnapped me... The rest... I shall leave out..." "Did it hurt..." I looked at her? "Did what hurt?" "Your... um...transformation..." I growled was Elisa always so... nosey? "Yes...A lot...But why are you so interested in me?" Elisa looked at me weirdly..."I'm interested in you because I care about you..." . "Really, you care about an ugly freak like me? Me? A monster that looks like the lead out of a horror movie? I doubt it..." I growled. Elisa grabbed my hand as I prepared to storm out. "Yes I do... Dahlia. Look you're not a freak so stop calling yourself one...You're special... You remind me of my sister Beth except so much stronger and braver...I don't think I've met anyone like you...You aren't a monster, nowhere near... Sevarius is...So please..." I flattened my ears against my skull as guilt washed over me... I was being a jerk. My parents were never the caring type. Having someone like Elisa constantly looking out for me and providing for me was strange... but nice. "I'm sorry, I'm just new to the family thing...No one has ever really looked after me the way you have..." her face softened. "Look, don't take it personally, ok? I tend to get really motherly I can't help it... I was and still am the eldest child. My brother Derek hates me for it. In fact, he went as far as becoming Xanatos's bodyguard just to show me he's capable of handling himself..." "Wow... that's harsh..." "Yeah..." I could sense hurt in her voice. Getting up, I went over to her and patted her on the shoulder...


	8. Chapter 8

We sat there together in silence. "So want to go back to the apartment?" she asked breaking the silence. I made a face. "Are you kidding? Please don't take it the wrong way but as much as I'm grateful for you letting me stay there, I'm sick of going back forth between your apartment and the clock tower. I mean... It...It just gets boring..." "Yeah, I can imagine..."Elisa smiled... "Want to head to my office...I have some stuff I need you to see, plus I've got coffee and doughnuts..." "Sounds greats..." I answered momentarily forgetting my current appearance. It was only when my tail brushed against my legs was I was reminded. "No wait, are you nuts, I'll be spotted!" I protested. "No you won't, look its way too early for anyone to be around, and those who are will be in their own offices. C'mon..." Elisa pulled me downwards. Uncomfortably I followed her down the clock tower and into the police headquarters. Quietly we slinked into her office. "Ok come here..." Elisa signaled. I walked towards her. "Is this the lab you were held captive in?" she asked pointing at the computer monitor. I looked, "yeah..." "Ok I need you to confirm if you're one of these missing people... So just stop me if you are." She flashed images of teenage girls. I watched as more and more girls appeared on the screen. It was terrifying how many there were. What was with this world? Without warning my nose and ears perked up, someone was coming into the office...

"Detective Maza!" a confidant looking woman with short brown hair walked in. "Captain Chavez! Um..." "Want to tell me what's going on?" the woman named captain Chavez asked raising an eyebrow. "I can...I can explain...there... is an extremely good reason for all this..." Elisa spluttered. "There better be, please tell me what the hell were you doing at Gen-U –Tech yesterday?" Elisa spun around. Of course I was nowhere to be found. "You ok? You seem jumpy..." Captain Chavez asked in a more gentle tone. "I'm sorry captain, its just that I'm tired and trying to piece together how Gen-U-Tech is responsible for missing people and it isn't going as easy as I thought it would..." Elisa lied. "Ok fine Maza but take it easy.." and with that Chavez left. Phew... If I had hid any longer I might have crashed landed on that Chavez woman. "Damn I don't want to do that again..." I mumbled cleaning the white dust off my claws. "How did you..." Elisa asked in surprised. I pointed to the ceiling, on it were four incredibly obvious claw marks. "Sorry..." "Don't be... you just saved the both of us from a lot of trouble..." Elisa laughed. We made our way back to the computer monitor. The next image left me breathless. A tall willowy girl with long raven hair, ivory skin, chiseled features and striking grey eyes starred back at me. "There...That was me..." Elisa starred at the screen and then at me, without a word she printed the image. "Ok, I'm going back to Gen-U-Tech... You ok with going back to the apartment yourself?" she asked stuffing my image in her jacket pocket. "Yeah..." "Don't get spotted..."she warned, with that she ran off. Easy for you to say... I looked at the computer one more time... I resisted the urge to smash the screen. Tears welled up in my eye...As much as I never wanted to see that face again, I... I... I printed the image. Stuffing it into my jeans pocket, I crept out of the office and into the clock tower.

Finally it was sunset again... Stretching my limbs I rolled off the couch I was napping on. I looked into the mirror. "God I looked terrible... Animal face and all...I made my way to the balcony and flew towards the statue of liberty. When I got there, I carefully hid behind her crown. While I waited, I took out the photograph of myself... "Hello stranger... I mumbled looking at the beautiful human face. That was so long ago...Was I still her? Was I still Dahlia Carter? "Dalia!" "Dahlia!" I looked down. Jason was there, holding a duffel bag but was he alone? I sniffed... He was alone...But what was in his bag...Knives, guns? Time to find out... I swooped down next to him... "HOLY..." "Whoa whoa don't fall off again! Its me!" I yelled catching his shirt collar as he tripped backwards. "Its you! Damn! Don't do that again! You scared the hell out of me!" Jason shouted his long tousled hair falling over his face. "What's in the bag?" I asked raising an eyebrow. He laughed. "Always to the point huh? Well Dahlia, since you are new to this wonderful city, I thought I'd introduce you to some NY specialties..." I watched as he pulled out a picnic mat and laid it out. Gesturing for me to sit he took out two gigantic hotdogs. "Here! Its for you..." Jason mumbled handing me one of the hot dogs. Suspicious, I sniffed at it and I heard him laugh. "What's so funny?" I demanded flustered. "You're so paranoid, it's cute..." I blushed under my fur. "Thanks for the food..." I smiled. He sat next to me and started munching on his hot dog. I did the same. My eyes grew wide. "This is amazing..."I said through my stuffed mouth. "NY Specialty beautiful..." he said swallowing. I chocked. "Don't call me that..." He raised an eyebrow. "Call you what?" "Beautiful...Don't call me that because I'm not...I'm not beautiful, I'm not even human anymore..." I thought of my human self. I was a beautiful then... but now...Aghh! Jason looked at me weird, "what do you mean? You are beautiful..." "No! I WAS beautiful...past tense I'm not anymore and I'll never be...Never again..." He touched my furred hands. "I don't believe that..." "Well you should..." I spat throwing my photograph at him. I turned away as he took a long look at the photograph. "This...this was you?" I heard him say. "Yeah..." "What...What happened?" "Someone robbed me of my humanity..." I growled, I could feel something excruciatingly hot behind my eyes. Almost like they were glowing, tears started flowing out again..."I am so pathetic. I mean... Crying about my looks, I'm such a bimbo..." I joked. However I could literally feel my depression rising... I had tried to push the pain away for the past two days, but now it had come back with a vengeance, and I felt even more miserable now. Being an outcast in the world and never being able to live like I did before that fateful night. Friends I could never see again, places I could never visit again, things I could never do again. The list was still growing in my thoughts. The pain made it even more difficult for me to keep my emotions in check, and before I knew it I was bawling like a baby..."Hey...Hey hey..." I heard Jason say. I gasped in surprise as two strong arms wrapped me in a hug. I struggled weakly before collapsing into his chest sobbing and whimpering. Jason didn't let go. He started patting my hair, comforting me and somehow... I felt comfortable around him like I could tell him anything...Anything in the world... He wasn't like Elisa, he didn't expect anything from me...He just wanted me..."Sorry..." I sniffed finally breaking away from our long embrace. "It's ok...Don't worry about it..." he said placing his arms around me again. "In that case..." I wrapped my wings around the both of us... "I was a jerk to you wasn't I?" I murmured. " Please, if someone went through all that and wasn't angsty... They wouldn't be human." I laughed. "I hate you..." I mumbled snuggling into his chest. "Me too..." I felt him kiss me lightly on my head. We lay down together...there and then under the beautiful starry sky.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's voice: Sorry about the long wait... I had writer's block :( Hope this doesn't disappoint you dear readers... **

I flew back to the clock tower feeling more hopeful and happier then I ever did for quite a long time... "Awww crap its dawn..." I said aloud looking at the rising orb of light. Not only did I miss my chance to see the gargoyles but it also means I have to hide in the clock tower all the way until dusk, well that's what you get for cuddling with a hot guy on the statue of liberty...It makes you so happy you can't think straight...Deciding that I should just sleep through the day I prepared to land, this time, almost perfectly. I walked towards the kitchen to fix myself a glass of water and to my surprise I came face to face with... "Maggie?!" I shrieked in surprise. "Dahlia! Oh my goodness I was worried sick about you!" she cried wrapping me in a hug. "Same here...What happened after we got separated?" I regretted the moment I asked that question. I watched as Maggie's face crumpled. "I was recaptured... Sevarius punished me..." "What? What did he do to you?" I growled furiously. "That's not important... Dahlias there are more like us! Sevarius has created more of us..." "Wait... are you saying?" Maggie nodded frantically. "Three more, they're all male...I even saw the third one transform before my eyes..." "What do you mean? Did Sevarius lock a man with you?" Maggie shook her head confusing me... "A man came to visit Sevarius today, apparently he was funding Sevarius to create gargoyles..." "What nut job wants gargoyles?" I asked angrily. Maggie shrugged, "but the thing was... he... he had no idea Sevarius was changing our genetic makeup. The man ordered us to be cured but Sevarius reacted badly to it... He aimed a gun at the man but the man's bodyguard took the shot..." I groaned. "Let me the guess, whatever shot out of the gun contained the same chemicals Sevarius injected us with..." "Exactly..." Maggie announced. "Never mind, the big question is how you got to the clock tower..." Maggie looked down. "Maggie... Are you hiding something from me?" I asked worriedly. "Dahlia...This is going to sound insane but... I... I was broken out by gargoyles..." She pointed towards... "Brooklyn? You were broken out by Brooklyn?" I rolled my eyes. Why was I not surprised? "You know them?" Maggie asked her jaw dropping. I nodded; before Maggie could react I heard footsteps. "Who's there?" I growled, my eyes glowing. A blonde man in a blue business suit entered. "Maggie Reed? Dahlia Carter? My name is Owen. I'm here to escort you" "How...How do you know our names?" Maggie asked. "Xanatos has given me specific instructions to escort you two back to his castle..." "Xanatos..." Wasn't that the guy Elisa hated? I didn't like where this was going... "How do we know you're not lying..." I snarled. "You don't..." Owen replied simply. "Maggie... We can't trust this guy..." I warned. "What does Xanatos want with us?" Maggie asked pushing me aside. "Mr. Xanatos is offering you...All of you... A cure... A chance to be human again..." Owen said simply wiping his glasses. "Maggie no..." My advice fell on deaf ears... Maggie opted to follow Owen, leaving me no choice but to follow them...

It was nightfall. I had met all the other mutates. Lucky for me I was youngest there...Meaning no one really took notice of me... The really loud and annoying one who tried hitting on me was Fang, a puma mutate. Claw was the huge extremely intimidating but mute tiger mutate and lastly there was Talon, a panther mutate. He just sat next to me not saying a word during the whole of Xanatos's speech on how he would try to cure us... What a load of bull... I could hear his heartbeat he was lying... Elisa was right... "How about some fresh air? I think it'll do us all good..." Xanatos suggested opening the doors of his stuffy office. We travelled up to the balcony. "Oh damn... " Fang murmured. "It's beautiful..." Maggie exclaimed. I couldn't help but nod in agreement. We were on top of a huge castle, literally... I made my way to the edge of the castle and looked down. "Wow..." I drew back quickly. We were high up. Very high up... I could even see the clouds floating below us. Next to me, I saw Talon climb onto the ledge. He looked so... So sad. Like he was going to... "What are you doing?!" I hissed. He glared at me angrily and expanded his wings. "Until Xanatos finds a cure, we might as well learn how to use these wings... Follow my lead..." he growled before leaping off the building. I looked down in terror expecting him to crash land on the pavement. To my surprise he swopped upwards with such speed it rivaled Goliath's... The other mutates soon followed in his lead. I followed along reluctantly purposely stumbling on certain occasions so I would not look like I already had a head start to this flying thing. "Hey... he can keep his cure... I like this..." I heard Fang announce. Rolling my eyes I heard a familiar roar... Goliath? "YOU! This is your fault monster!" I heard Talon scream before he lunged violently for Goliath while Fang and Claw went after Brooklyn and Lexington. "No wait!" I protested flying after them. "For what?" Fang laughed choking Lexington. I growled heat building up in my arms. Without warning a stream of electricity shot out of hands hitting Fang in between the wings. "YOUCH!" he screamed as he released Lexington. I turned to Claw my eyes glowing my hackles raised. Raising his arms he willingly released Broadway. I smiled; at least he was cooperative... Without warning, Maggie flew past me, knocking me aside followed by a desperate Brooklyn. "Maggie wait!" he cried. "Brooklyn let her go!" I warned diving after the both of them. Of course he ignored me... WHY IS EVERYONE IGNOING ME?! "Why won't you let me help you?" he asked Maggie sadly as they landed on one of the towers. "You don't want to help me, you want me to stay a monster! LIKE YOU!" she roared shooting a blast of electricity at Brooklyn before she leaped off the tower. "Brooklyn... Are you ok?" I asked helping him up. "Leave me alone..." he cried pushing me away. I looked at him sadly. Poor guy...I swooped after Maggie. "Maggie! Maggie!" I cried. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" she roared shooting a deadly blast of electricity. It hit me square on the chest. Before I blacked out I saw her horrified face and I was falling... Falling... Falling...Falling into nothingness...


	10. Chapter 10

Hi readers... :) This is not a chapter but just a little message I have for you guys...I'll be gone for quite a while to a faraway place without internet so I won't be updating anytime soon:( I'm sorry about that... Thank you ilovedracoHD and JamesBirdsong for the reviews and support and I'll update as soon as I get back :)


	11. Chapter 11

"Oww..." I groaned sitting up. I felt like a huge truck had just hit me and ran me over. "Easy Dahlia...You have been hurt..." Goliath's deep voice boomed behind me as he gently lifted me up. "Thanks..." I murmured. I noticed a well-bandaged cast around my chest. "Wow... Goliath I knew you were a warrior but I didn't know you were a good medic too..." I smiled rubbing the cast. Goliath looked away. "Um? Did I say something offensive?" I asked confused... What did I say? "I didn't tend your wounds..." "Oh...Who did?" "Elisa..." "oh..." I said as I turned to go thank Elisa. "You might not want to... Not now..." Goliath objected with a low growl. "Why not? Is she ok? What happened while I was out?" "She is in...Mourning..." Goliath rumbled. "Mourning?" What was he talking about? Did someone die while I was unconscious? "Not for the dead but for her brother, Talon..." he rephrased quickly as if he read my mind. "Talon...Talon is her brother?" I hissed not believing where this was going. Ignoring Goliath's warnings I made my way to Elisa. She was just sitting there, on a stack of hay crying softly to herself. I couldn't believe my eyes; she was so different from her usual cool-headed self. I couldn't blame her though, the emotional blow she got must have be excruciating... Not saying a word I wrapped my wings around her and patted her gently. She buried her dark head into my shoulder and continued weeping. I looked away...

It was past dawn now... Way past dawn... The gargoyles had all turned to stone. Elisa was asleep on my shoulder. Gently, I lay her down on the hay. The poor lady had been through enough... I sighed. How did my life get this complicated? I made my way to the balcony. Should I stay here the whole day and waste my time or should I go back to Xanatos's castle. I looked at Elisa, I felt bad just leaving her like that I mean she had helped me out so much and I should return the favor... I should... But I didn't know how... Deciding that to go back to the castle, to try to convince Talon and the others that the gargoyles weren't enemies was the best option I had. I expanded my wings and flew off, not caring if anyone below saw me. Weaving my way through the tall skyscrapers I landed on Xanatos's balcony. Sniffing the air I followed the mixture of scents down the stairway and into the castle. The scent ended at a door. I knocked. The door opened and I came face to face with Talon. "Oh...It's you..." he said simply. "We need to talk...""About what?" his golden eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Don't play dumb... I need to talk to you about your sister... you know Elisa Maza?" I growled crossing my arms. He glared at me. Finally with a sigh he lowered his ears and beckoned me into the room. I sat on one of the armchairs. "What do you want?" he growled sitting opposite me. "Don't growl at me...Derek..." I smirked adding emphasis to his real name. "Don't push it kid..." I sighed "Look... I know being a mutate is hard and its new but...You can't blame the gargoyles for it..." He bared his fangs...Whoops looks like I struck a nerve... "THE GARGOYLES MADE ME LIKE THIS..." he growled loudly. I rolled my eyes. "Yes you made that clear when you sucker punched Goliath...Look you have to get over this gargoyle prejudice syndrome...the gargoyles..." I stopped when I saw bits of static creep up his arms. I had already been hit by electricity once and frankly, I didn't want to be hit again... "Ok...ok... fine... Look about Elisa, she's in pain... emotionally because of you...You have to go talk to her..." "I can't..." he said looking away. "Yes you can, c'mon she's worried about you. Derek..." "Look kid...I can't...I can't... not like this... Xanatos..." I snapped. "Xanatos is the source of your problems, the source of my problems not the cure!" I spat. "No! He's the only one who can make us human again." God this guy was such a blockhead. "Think Derek, Maggie told me he funded the whole thing... What makes you think he wants to let go of such an investment?" I asked standing up. "You know, you're starting to sound like my sister..." he growled softly. "Good...At least one of us does..." I growled back. That did it. "Ok kid, you think you can barge in and tell me what to do? You're not my sister... Both of you have no idea what I've been through." "We would if you told us!" "FORGET IT!" he yelled his eyes glowing. "FINE!" I yelled storming out. What a jerk... I sighed. I was such a failure; I couldn't even convince Derek to talk to his sister... Jesus. "Ahhh Dahlia. There you are...We were looking for you..." a familiar voice sounded. "What do you want from me Xanatos?" I scowled. "Please call me David... We have your room ready." He replied coolly an infuriating smile plastered on his stupid face. "What room?" I interrogated suspiciously. "The room you'll be staying in while we find your cure..." he said innocently. I looked down. What if Derek was right? What if Xanatos could really make me human again? I could go back to Elizabeth... I could go to collage... Best of all, I'd be Dahlia Carter again just another normal ordinary teenager on the streets. Not a electric shooting furry human, cheetah bat hybrid... Not a failed experiment. I'd be free of genetic mutations, free of gargoyles... Just free... It was all I ever wanted... It...It...It was too good to be true... I bared my fangs. "Thanks but no thanks... You can keep your cure..." That seemed to have taken him by surprise. "Well you are still welcome in my castle..." "I don't belong to you..." I growled. Running up the spiral staircase I expanded my wings and leaped off before anyone could stop me.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's voice: Yes I know...I'm sorry the chapter took so long but school projects are a pain... Hope you enjoy this chapter please review and enjoy!Oh yeah you might want to watch the episode the cage before reading...The whole thing's on youtube...**

I flew carefully back to Elisa's apartment, it was mid afternoon and the streets of New York was packed. I did my best to stay out of sight, flying as high as I could. To my relief there was not a single "Look there's a monster in the sky!" to be heard. Finally after an hour of ducking behind skyscrapers I arrived at Elisa's balcony. Hesitantly I looked into the apartment. Elisa was on her couch caressing Cagney. She was surrounded by what looked like photo albums and to be frank she looked terrible. I sighed, was this even a good time to bother her? I mean the news I was about to bring her wasn't even going to help cheer her up in any way... Maybe this wasn't a good time after all... I turned to leave only to accidently knock over a flowerpot with my tail. "Crap!" I cussed as the brown pot shattered into countless of pieces, terrific, now I had a lot of explaining to do. I heard the balcony doors slide open. "Derek?" I heard Elisa call, hope in her voice. Jesus now I feel worse than I already did... "Sorry Elisa, it's just me..." I said softly stepping in front of her. "Oh...Hi Dahlia...Why...Why don't you come in?" she said stepping aside disappointment evident in her voice. "I'm sorry about the pot, I'll clean it up..." "No its ok..." she said gesturing for me to sit next to her. Gingerly I sat. "So where were you this morning? You weren't there when I got up." Elisa interrogated sipping coffee. Ok I was hoping I could delay this conversation but of course the odds are not ever in my favor. I turned away. "I went to see Derek...I went to see Derek at Xanatos's castle..."

Elisa nearly spat out her coffee but instead she chocked on it. "Whoa easy, easy..." I instructed patting her back as she chocked and spluttered. When she recovered a stream of questions escaped her mouth." Xanatos's castle?! Dahlia that's dangerous, that place is loaded with defense mechanisms! Are you hurt? Did Xanatos do anything to you...Is Derek ok? Did" I gestured for her to calm down. "I'm totally fine, Derek's fine..." "So?" she asked eagerly. I sighed. "So...Do you want the good news or the bad news first." "Dahlia!" "Ok bad news first then..." I wanted to get it out of my system. "So I went to talk to Derek and...And he's really stubborn. He...He still does not exactly want to talk to you about his metamorphosis... And he still thinks Xanatos can cure him..." I struggled bracing myself for the worse... "WHAT?! HOW CAN DEREK SAY THAT? XANATOS IS THE SOURCE OF HIS PROBLEMS! THAT'S IT I'M GOING TO DRIVE THERE NOW AND..." I blocked her from exiting the door. "Ok you need to calm down...This is why Derek didn't want to tell you about his" "I don't care! He's my brother and I need to see him now!" she screamed as she squirmed desperately against me to get through the door. "Waitwaitwaitwait you haven't even heard the good news yet..." I grunted. God she was strong. "What good news?" she asked. This is going to haunt me for life... "I've decided to... Let you bring me in... As a probable cause...To arrest Xanatos..." Elisa stopped squirming. "What?" "Use me as the evidence you need to arrest Xanatos! Then I don't know... the government will make sure he finds some way for us to turn back to normal..." I said slowly. "No Dahlia I won't..." Elisa said turning away. "Why not?" I asked confused. Didn't she want Derek to be human again? "We don't know if that will work out...Xanatos has good lawyers he won't be in jail for long...and I can't use you as a tool of personal revenge, I can't do that to you... and I won't!" she said firmly. "But don't you want your brother to be human again? Just do it Elisa I know the consequences... I'm fine with it..." I meant what I said. I was willing to do it for Elisa, firstly because I owed her and most importantly I knew what it was like to lose a younger sibling... the pain emotionally is unbearable... "Dahlia if I expose you...you'll probably be locked up in a lab somewhere forever and..." "It's ok... at least Xanatos will get what he deserves..." "But you won't. Dahlia I will not do that to you...I will never do that to you... No one deserves such a fate...not even Xanatos..." We stared at each other. Clueless of what to do next "So what are you going to do now?" I asked slumping against the door. "I'm...I'm going to let Derek choose what he wants to do...If...If I hadn't infuriated him about Xanatos the last time he wouldn't have..." "You can't blame yourself for what happened..." I comforted helping her to back to sofa. "Yes...Yes I can..."

It was weeks before we ever saw Derek or the other mutates again. During those weeks I was declared an official member of Goliath's clan. I did patrols with the trio every night. Goliath even trained me in hand-to-hand combat so now I can hold my own ground without always using electricity and most importantly without the trio worrying their butts off about me. Elisa taught me basic forensics like matching fingerprints and collecting DNA samples in the day and since I lived with her I paid rent in the form of constantly helping her around the house. "Dahlia careful with the plates!" I heard her call from the kitchen. I sighed. That was the 201th time she told me to be careful with the plates. "Ok!" I called back. "Hey did you clean up your room?" I face palmed. "Yes along with your room the living room and the kitchen before you messed it up with your cooking..." Elisa walked out with a huge steaming pot. "I'm sorry...but this cooking is for my family... Beth just passed her midterms and that is worthy of a celebration..." "Alright...Fine but..." the bell rang. "Oh god its time already! Quick..." Putting down the pot. Elisa proceeded to push me towards the balcony. "C'mon quick...They'll see you!" "Ok! Ok! Ok! I'm moving...I'M MOVING! JESUS! STOP STEPPING ON MY TAIL!" I shouted before leaping off the balcony.

I flew about the city looking for any kind of trouble. I still had an hour before sunset. The city was unnaturally peaceful and I had no idea what to do. Flying to my favorite spot on the statue of liberty I sat and watched people travel to and fro. Finally the sun sank below the horizon. Jumping off the statue I waved at a little kid who just happened to be staring at my direction and before she could tell her mother I changed direction rendering me unseen. I flew towards the clock tower. "Hey Dahlia!" "Dahlia!" "Dahlia nice to see you!" the trio called as I landed on the clock tower. "Hey guys!" " Did you bring anything from Elisa like food?" Broadway asked. "Or is it something technical?" Lexington eagerly asked pushing Broadway away. "Um nothing like that..." From my pants pocket I pulled out a brochure. "But...but there's a great band playing at the park tonight if you guys are interested..." "Awesome! When does it start?" Brooklyn asked leaping onto the ledge. Looking at the clock I grinned. "We have 10 minutes to glide to central park!" I announced. "Then what are we waiting for? Lets go!" Brooklyn declared gliding off. Lexington, Broadway and I followed suit.

God what was I thinking coming to the rock concert? The music was so freaking loud even from across the park I couldn't even hear myself think. I watched as the trio danced wildly, their movements in synch with the music. Well at least they're enjoying themselves. No waning to waste any more time, I cupped my hands over my mouth and yelled. "Hey Guys! GUYS! I AM HEADING BACK TO THE CLOCKTOWER! IS THAT OK?" "What?" Brooklyn asked still dancing his claws strumming an air guitar. "GOING TO CLOCKTOWER!" I yelled again. "What?" "CLOCKTOWER! CLOCKTOWER! CLOCKTOWER!" I screamed my vocal chords reaching their limits. Brooklyn starred at me. "What?" he asked finally. I slapped my forehead. Jesus Freaking Christ was he deaf? Not caring anymore I leaped off the building and flew as fast as I could to the clock tower. My ears were still ringing from all that heavy metal music when I landed in front of Goliath and Elisa. "How was dinner?" I asked casually. "Dinner was fine...By the way you guys have to be more careful...Beth spotted you at my window at dinner..." Elisa warned looking at Goliath. "I wasn't at your window..." Goliath gruffed. "Well it was you then..." Elisa assumed pointing at me. "Hey, I was with the trio at the park, there's a concert going on there..." "Maybe it was Derek!" Elisa shrieked. I saw Goliath look away, guilt written all over his face. "Goliath what's wrong?" I asked raising an eyebrow "Hhhm...Talon and the other mutates are back with Xanatos... I've seen them flying to and fro from the eerie building..." "What?! Why didn't you tell me?" Elisa and I asked in unison. Goliath growled. "There wasn't anything any of us you could do. Talon has made his choice... I had hoped to have spared you of this pain..." Goliath mumbled looking straight at Elisa. "I don't accept that! We have to get him away from Xanatos! I NEED TO SEE MY BROTHER NOW!"


	13. Chapter 13

**author's voice: Comments are greatly appreciated :) No flames though...Other than that enjoy :)**

I followed Goliath as he flew towards the castle, he warned me to stay behind him just in case Xanatos had any automated defenses on. Geez just because I'm eighteen doesn't mean I'm totally useless... Quietly I landed beside them. "No one's around..." Elisa mumbled looking around. My ears twitched I swore I heard something above us move. Sniffing the air my eyes grew wide... "Look out!" I cried. Too late... before I knew it Claw and Talon had attacked Goliath while Fang got me into a chokehold as I attempted to help Goliath. "Hiya toots! Miss me?" he snickered. Growling I wrapped my tail around his foot and with all my might I yanked it sideways causing Fang to fall flat on his face. Building up electricity in my hands I backed away from an infuriated Fang. "Hold it right there! Derek Stop! We came to see you..." Elisa chided aiming her gun. While the mutates were distracted, Goliath and I took the opportunity to dive off the building and back into the air. We flew up and behind Elisa but before we could land, Talon shot a stream of electricity at Goliath causing him to fall heavily. Elisa and I both rushed to his side. The three mutates approached us menacingly. Jesus, did they get bigger? They were a hell lot more muscular than I remembered and strangely they were all tailless... Weird observation I know, but when you're one-third cat you tend to notice these things especially when you're tail provides more balance than your center of gravity ever can. "Derek please..." Elisa pleaded. That didn't help... "Stand away from him Elisa! He is my enemy!" Derek screamed. I watched in horror as electricity built up in his hands. Would he actually shoot his own sister? Snarling loudly and armed with so much electricity my own arms burnt I stood before Elisa and Goliath. Taking a defensive stance I prepared to protect them from harm when a familiar voice caused us all to stop in our tracks. "And she is your sister..." I watched as Maggie gracefully leaped off one of the towers and place her arms around Talon. "Are you going to attack her too?" she asked gently. "Maggie...Get out of the way..." Talon growled gently pushing her aside. "Derek please... You know how much I hate all the fighting..." "Particularly when its so unnecessary..."

I groaned. I knew that voice anywhere. "I appreciate it that you're protecting our home Talon but Goliath Elisa and Dahlia are always welcomed here. They're not the enemy..." Xanatos reprimanded as he stalked out of the shadows. "That's right he's the enemy!" Elisa shouted pointing an accusing finger at Xanatos. "No he's our only chance to be human again..." Maggie retorted. "Xanatos is the cause of your problems! Not the cure..." "NO! Goliath caused this! Goliath and Doctor Sevarius... Sevarius turned me into a creature but he was about to give me the antidote when Goliath and other gargoyles burst into the room. When security came up to defend us one of the gargoyles knocked one of the guards into Sevarius causing the antidote to shatter... Goliath then proceeded to kick Sevarius into an eel tank and he was electrocuted and now ... Sevarius is dead along with our hopes of ever being human again..." Talon snarled, sadness in his voice. I looked at him in confusion. "Dead? Nobody died that night..." Elisa said looking at me in confusion. "I SAW IT!" Talon shouted waving his hand in anger. "Talon she's right, no one died that night there wasn't a single Anton Sevarius in the obituaries of any newspaper..." I tried to tell him. "Also with Xanatos involved what you see is not always the truth..." Elisa warned glaring at Xanatos. "Same song same tune! Goliath has the both of you snowed...He and Sevarius are both to blame and he needs you two to protect you from me..." Talon growled. "Come Dahlia, Elisa we are not helping here..." Goliath mumbled leading the both of us to the ledge. "Getting scared monster? You should be! Sevarius is lucky he's dead! WATCH YOUR BACK GOLIATH THEY WON'T ALWAYS BE THERE AND I'M COMING FOR YOU!" Talon shrieked waving his fists violently while we took off. "Well that went well..." I mumbled sarcastically to Elisa.


	14. Chapter 14

Author's voice: Enjoy :) Comments are welcome

"Where are you going?" I asked Elisa as she stormed out of her room in a huff her pistol in her hands. "I have business to attend to!" she announced reloading it. "Sure you do..." I purred. "Seriously where are you going?" Elisa glared at me. " Fine! I'm going to see Sevarius! I'm going to prove to Derek once and for all Xanatos is evil..." she growled striding to the front door. "Ok you need to calm down and think about this first..." I warned eyeing the loaded pistol in her hands. "Think about what?" Elisa asked draping her red jacket around her. "Well first of all how do you know you'll find Sevarius? I mean he must be in hiding considering Derek and the other mutates are still convinced he's dead..." "I'll find him..." "Well what are you going to do when you do find him, drag him to see Derek? Derek will probably kill him... You saw him just now..." I reminded Elisa stopping her in her tracks. "He's a cop!" I raised an eyebrow. "Fine he was a cop... Look what I'm trying to say is that he has a moral code! He won't..." "Uh huh..." I said crossing my arms. "Please Dahlia... He's my brother..." Elisa pleaded. I sighed moving aside; I let her past, "Be careful..." I warned as she slammed the door shut. Still not convinced I decided to get help...

"Hey Hudson, where's Goliath?" I asked as I flew into the clock tower. I smiled fondly as the gargoyle walked out. " Ahhh lass, always to tha point I see...Goliath said he'd be gone for the week...Has something important to attend to..." "Did he say what he was going to do?" I asked curios now. Both Elisa and Goliath having business to attend to? This was getting interesting... "Unfortunately no lass...Why?" I sighed. "Nothing its just..." "Hello?" a voice called from the ledge. "Hudson no..." Too late... "Who's there..." he called walking out. " Oh its you..." I heard him say. Who was it? I prepared to follow him out. When all I heard was " "Good work Maggie!" and before I could react, Claw swooped in and pinned me to the ground with such force I felt the floor crack. "Claw! Get off me now!" I screamed in anger. He just looked at me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Hudson scream in pain as Fang electrocuted him over and over. "NO!" I screamed. Anger overtook me. Anger I have never felt before. It was like some sort of red mist clouding my judgment and it overwhelmed me in seconds. Snarling so ferociously it scared me, I shoved my legs under Claw and kicked him with all my might. As he tried to stand up, I built up as much electricity as I could and shot him straight in the chest. To my surprise, someone placed his or her hands on my shoulder... snarling I prepared to blast that person to kingdom come when... "Dahlia! Its me..." Maggie yelled raising her arms and backing away in fear. "You..." I muttered lowering my arms. Very bad mistake... I felt someone hit me over the head with something hard and I was slipping into unconsciousness. The last thing I heard was Fang's laughter surrounding me.

"Oww..." I groaned sitting up. Crap what the hell happened? "Holy..." I cussed as someone touched my shoulders again. What is with everyone touching my shoulders? "Whoa easy Dahlia it's only us..." "Broadway? Lexington? What happened?" I asked rubbing my forehead. "Fur brain over here knocked you out with a crowbar... So we took care of him..." Broadway murmured pointing at a chained up Fang. "Hey c'mon we were following orders! It was nothing personal! C'mon! Let me go!" Fang yelled loudly. Jesus he is just as annoying as he was not chained up, what a pain in the ass. "Thanks guys...Where's Brooklyn?" I asked getting up shakily. "He's in there talking to his girlfriend..." I rolled my eyes. Looks like he still had the hoots for Maggie. I crossed my arms as he walked out. "So what are we going to do with them?" I asked eager to punish Fang for hitting me with a crowbar. He sighed. "We're going to let them go..." he said not looking me in the eye. What?! Was this guy for real? "Brooklyn, they came to our home and attacked us and you propose we let them go... Have you lost it?" I asked throwing my arms up in disbelief. "Hey, the only reason they're attacking us is cuz' they think Goliath is somehow connected to Sevarius. Since Goliath isn't, we got nothing to hide... We have no business keeping them here..." I raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure its not because you have a certain attraction to..." "IT'S NOT..." he growled. "Ok then.." I replied sarcastically. What a softie. I growled as Maggie walked passed me. "Dahlia...I'm sorry...I never meant for this to happen..." she said reaching out. I slapped her hands away... "Save it" I hissed still pissed off by the fact that whenever Maggie was around I always got hurt. "Dahlia please, you have to understand Derek sent me to do this... I really never meant..." "Mm hmm save it, save the Derek sent you to do this, Derek sent you to do that crap because I'm going back to Xanatos's castle right now and I'm going to give Derek a piece of my mind..." I growled as I took off.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's voice: Sorry for the wait but school has started... Based on ilovedracoDH's idea :) Comments are welcome :)**

Ok maybe following the other mutates back was not the brightest idea I had but definitely one of the stupidest. It was the most hostile and awkward situation I have ever been in. Every now and then Fang would swear at me and call me a betrayer of my own kind while Maggie would cast me worried looks. "Ahhh! What the hell am I doing with you morons?" I growled aloud when Fang pointed the finger at me. Preparing to turn back. I stopped when Claw grabbed my arm. "What? Are you taking me as a prisoner now?" I growled sarcastically looking at his huge hand that wrapped around my tiny wrist. Lowering his ears the big guy shook his head slowly. "Then let me go! You monster! Let go!" I yelled wrenching my hand from his grip. I stopped short when Claw shook slightly, was he... "Are you crying?" I asked in surprise. Claw looked away. "Claw! You big baby! What's the matter with you? Did the little girl hurt you?" Fang laughed harshly slapping his thighs as he doubled over in laughter. "Shut up!" I snarled "Hey...Hey... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you...upset." I said softly flying next to him. He looked at me innocently, like a puppy that knew it did something very wrong. "Do you want me to stay?" I asked gently patting his shoulder feeling very guilty. He nodded eagerly, way too eagerly. "Ok...I'll stay..." Wiping away his tear I flew next to him, just to make him feel happier. Fang face palmed. With a snarl he continued flying and finally after some time he finally stopped harassing me. I looked at Claw. He looked so sad, and was he always so silent? "Hey...Claw... I'm sorry... I'm sorry I called you a monster...I didn't mean it at all...I should have watched what I was saying..." Claw just shrugged, his ears still lowered. "So are you always so silent?" I asked trying to start a conversation. "He has never spoke ever since his transformation... The trauma was too much for him" Maggie smiled sadly. "Oh...I'm sorry..." Damn, he must be so emotionally scarred inside. Well we all are in our own ways. Claw smiled his ears perking up adorably. "So what were you working as before all of this..." I asked, determined to know more about him. Claw struck a manly pose. I raised an eyebrow. "You were a body builder?" I said finally, not knowing what to say, I mean he had to be right? He was big... Even by mutate standards... He was significantly bigger than Fang, Talon, and maybe even Goliath... Claw shook his head. Again he struck the pose. "I'm sorry man...I don't know..." Claw lowered his head. Sighing, he started to put his hands on his hips and sway them. "Catwalk? You were a model?" Claw nodded. I stifled a giggle. While that explains a lot of things... "Hey! Hey! Hey! Quit yapping yer buckaroos, we're here!" Fang growled as a large castle appeared from the fog.

I touched down on the castle only to be knocked violently aside by a crazed Talon. "I know he hates your guts toots but what's gotten into him?" Fang asked as Claw helped me up. "I don't know...but he looks mad..." Maggie proclaimed. Instinctively we flew after him. "FANG! WHATS SHE DOING HERE?" Talon screamed as he eyed me with such blood stopping fury I actually felt literally fearful for my life. "I dunno Boss cat, she insisted on coming so we let her..." Fang shrugged. "Alright if you want to come, come but one thing I want to make clear. STAY OUT OF MY WAY!" Talon snarled at me. Oh damn he meant business. "Yes sir..." I muttered. We flew into a sewer. The smell was awful but none of us dared to question an extremely pissed off Talon. He looked like he wanted to tear someone's head off and honestly I think that someone is me. Sniffing, Talon stomped deeper into the sewer until he stopped in front of a door. Signaling for us to get ready, we burst through the door. I stopped short, not believing my eyes. In there, I saw the most unlikely trio. "ELISA! I KNEW GOLIATH AND SEVARIUS WERE IN THIS TOGETHER BUT I CAN'T BELIEVE...YOU'RE HELPING THEM!" Talon screamed jumping to conclusions. As always he worked himself into fury, ignoring Elisa's protests he pounced on Goliath. I watched in terror as Talon beat Goliath over and over again what scared me was...Talon was actually winning. "No Stop!" I leaped onto Talon and with all my might while Elisa tried to to pry the two of them apart. Growling Talon shot a beam of electricity at Goliath, with one arm threw Elisa into Claw's unbreakable hold. Throwing me off his back, he proceeded to shoot deadly blasts of electricity at Goliath. I chocked, I could actually smell Goliath's skin peeling off...If this continued, I doubt that goliath would make it... "STOP IT!" I roared. Summoning the electricity to wrap around my arms like protective glows. I hit Talon with all might. To my surprise he actually fell sideways from my blow. He turned to me. "I've just about had it with you..." he snarled, his eyes were glowing, electricity building up in his hand. "Talon, don't do this...I warned electricity ready in my own hands. With a roar, Talon jumped at me, I growled as he rammed me against the wall. I felt something trickle down from the corner of my mouth. Blood. Hissing I shot electricity at him causing him to fly backwards. Angrily ignoring protests from both Elisa and Maggie, I ducked aside as he swiped madly at me and shot him with another low voltage electric beam. As he doubled over in pain, I grabbed his ears and punched him over and over in the chest and once in the groin for good measure. Raising my arm I prepared to land one more blow but to my surprise, Talon grabbed my arm hard and twisted it. He twisted it hard. I hissed in pain. "I WARNED YOU..." he snarled.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's voice: Sorry for the wait :( School is waaaay to long :( Anyway thanks for all the nice reviews, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you did with the previous chapters!**

I kicked wildly but fruitlessly as Talon lifted me up. "Let me go! Let me go!" I screamed over and over but he ignored me. No! Crap! He was lifting me over his head...He was going to drop me! "Derek don't! She's just a kid!" Elisa yelled squirming wildly in Claw's grip. "No Elisa! I'm not going to delay my vengeance any longer! No matter what it takes! I'm going to end this once and for all!" Without warning, Talon just slammed my body downwards. I twisted wildly in an attempt to cushion the fall, no such luck. I landed very heavily on my side and as my body made contact with the floor there were two sickening cracks. I whimpered as the excruciating pain overwhelmed me. My vision was getting blurry... No I'm not going to pass out... I AM NOT GOING TO PASS OUT... "Dahlia!" out of the corner of one eye I saw Maggie reaching for me and in my other eye Talon menacingly approaching Goliath. "No...Talon..." I croaked. "Dahlia...Your ribs...They're broken...Don't move..." Maggie instructed as she lay her hands on me. I closed my eyes as Talon caused a huge drainpipe to fall on Goliath knocking him unconscious. I have never seen anyone knock out Goliath...That was the last straw. Grabbing my sides and ignoring the burning flames of agony, I stood up to help Goliath only to collapse back down and held back by Maggie. "Let me go..." I croaked tears running down my cheeks. That was when Talon turned around. "Bring Sevarius here...They can die together..." He said gleefully like a little boy about to get his Christmas present early... Fang willingly shoved Sevarius towards Derek. "No!" Elisa begged. "Derek you can't" Maggie warned. "He won't, This is the antidote!" Sevarius declared holding up a test tube filled with lime green liquid...

We all froze, an antidote? Sevarius actually created an antidote? So that's why Elisa and Goliath were here with Sevarius... They were trying to force him into making an antidote. Maggie leaned me against a table and released my shoulders. She was staring at the test tube with absolute fixation; I could tell then and there she wanted it more than anything in the world. "There's only enough for one...But I can make more...Enough for each of you! All I want in return is my safety...and my freedom" Sevarius laughed wagging the test tube. He could make more? Enough for each of us? I...I was going to be human again... I am actually... "I'm way past caring about your antidote!" Talon growled dismissing Sevarius's words like they meant nothing. "Me to! I LIKE THIS BODY!" Fang sneered happily flexing his arms. "I just want to see you pay for your crimes..." Talon leered happily. "What about what we want?" Maggie cried desperately pointing to Claw and me. "Please Derek, is your vengeance more important than our humanity?" "Give it to her..."he said simply, genuinely not interested by the prospect of being human again. I watched in anticipation as Maggie reached for the test tube. To our surprise Sevarius stopped her from taking the antidote. He wrapped his arms protectively around the test tube like it was a fragile child. "Why let her take it? YOU deserve it more..." Sevarius said cajolingly to Talon. I raised an eyebrow. "Why would you care?" I growled. "Yeah why would you care?" Fang commented casually tossing the test tube to Maggie. "Good question! If he's going to make enough for all of you why should he care who takes it first?" Elisa reasoned finally breaking out of Claw's hold. I saw Talon about to retort, oh no you don't... From where I lay, I grabbed his arm. "Think about it...For once in your damn life, think it through..." I croaked. I watched in relief as slowly as his ears perked up and realization hit him. " She's right...That's not a cure...It's poison!"

"You want me out of the way!" Talon roared at Sevarius approaching him menacingly. "No! It is a cure! It has to be!" Maggie argued defiantly looking at the precious vile of liquid. "It is the cure! You have to trust me!" Sevarius begged urging Talon to drink it. "I think that ship has sailed doctor..." "Augh!" Fang cried as a red beam of light shot him straight in the chest and into a nearby wall. Weakly, I turned around to come face to face with... Ok I'm hallucinating from the injuries I...I had to be... Otherwise, how would I explain the dozen robotic replicas of Goliath's in front of me? I watched in confusion as one of the mechanical Goliaths' pulled off his head to reveal Xanatos underneath. Wait, so Xanatos strides around in a Goliath suit? Seriously? For a guy who was soooo evil he could be so well...Lame... "You always to overplay your role Anton..." Xanatos commented dryly as Sevarius scampered behind him. I watched as Talon's face expression turned from one of confusion, shock and then anger... Finally, the blockhead gets it... "I don't believe it... Goliath was not Sevarius's partner... It...It was you all along! I TRUSTED YOU! YOU TURNED ME INTO A MONSTER AND I DEFENDED YOU!" Talon roared. Balling his large fists, he made his way to beat Xanatos into pulp until Xanatos shot a beam of red light at Talon's feet creating a large hole in the concrete ground. Ok...Suddenly the gargoyle suit became less lame. In fact, it was dangerous... We could all die here at the mercy of Xanatos... "I am a sorry things turned out this way..." Xanatos mocked. "No you're not..." I snarled from where I was leaning. "Well I thought you'd all be happier if you remained in the dark but now..." "But now we know the truth..." Talon growled his eyes glowing with hate. "Yes you do. However I cannot let you destroy Anton, he's bit of a bother but his mind represents INFINITE possibilities. He's the scientist... You are all just the experiments..." I growled. Trust me, if I weren't injured right now...I would have just ripped him limb from limb. I expected Talon to do that but he just stood there shaking. Poor guy...He was just being used the whole time. It must feel horrible... I watched as Xanatos and his goons turned to leave. Just before Sevarius left, he smiled...That same horrible cold smile he had when right before I changed. "You know...That may be a vile of poison...Of course, there's only one way to find out..."


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's voice: Its finally here! Yay!**

Talon buried his face into his hands and knelt onto the floor. I could see...I could hear tears of regret flowing down his cheeks. Poor guy... Slowly, I pulled myself up. Ignoring the pain on my side, I limped to his side followed by Elisa. "Oh Elisa..." he sobbed. "Hush... Its fine..." she comforted wrapping him in a hug. "No...No its not..." Talon looked at me. "I was so fixated... I...I actually hurt...I actually hurt you...I'm so sorry. I'm..." "It wasn't you fault..." I croaked patting his shoulder. Without warning, Talon bolted up. "Maggie...What are you doing?" he asked, anxiety clearly written on his face. I looked at her and stopped in shock. Was she insane? She was holding the test tube to her lips and about to drink its contents. "He was just trying to scare us!" Maggie hissed clutching the test tube tightly, her hackles raised when Talon attempted to touch her. "Maggie...Maggie are you alright?" I asked, very worried. Maggie was the most passive out of all of us...She never picked fights ever... "Alright? I'm better than all right! I'm going to be human again!" she announced one again placing the test tube to her lips. "Maggie No!" Both Talon and I yelled together. She stopped. "Don't you see? Sevarius doesn't want his experiment to end! BUT THIS IS THE CURE!" she insisted shoving the test tube to Talon's face. Was she even listening to herself? "You don't know that! The risk is too great!" Talon rebuffed while trying to snatch the test tube from Maggie only to be pushed away. "What is wrong with you?" I asked while Elisa attempted to pull me up. Maggie turned to me her golden eyes filled with such sadness it was like looking into an empty pit. "Any risk is better than being a monster..." she growled, tears streaming down her face...

I had no idea...After all this time...She...She... she was still obsessed about being human again... I mean, as much as I hated to admit it, I had come to terms with my mutation... I think all of us had...All of us except Maggie... "Maggie you're not a monster...Don't do this..." I counseled...I begged. Fiercely, she shook her head. "I CAN'T LIVE LIKE THIS! I can't...I can't..." she whimpered digging her claws into her hair. We all watched as she bent over and cried... her sobs echoing around the lab. Despite having the features of a lion, she was so broken...So fearful... Of herself... It created such an ironic and tragic juxtaposition... "Maggie..." I whispered. "Maggie..." Talon rumbled walking back to her. I watched in amazement as Talon gently...GENTLY lifted her face. "You're not the monster...I am..." he confessed his ears flattened against his head. "But you're strong...Stronger than me... I can't...I can't live this way..." Talon wrapped his arms around her waist. Bringing his snout to hers he wrapped his huge wings around the both of them. "I couldn't either...Not without you..." he whispered. "Don't say that..." Maggie begged her shoulders trembling. "Maggie we're not strong alone. We're strong together..." Talon nuzzled. After what seemed like eternity...Maggie released the test tube. "What do we now?" she whispered sadness still present in her voice. "Return with me to the clock tower... Join my clan..." Goliath offered dusting rubble off himself as he pulled himself out of the debris Talon had buried him under. I raised an eyebrow Goliath would actually... "You would accept us? After how I treated you?" Talon asked his eyes wide with surprise. "Dahlia and Elisa are already part of our clan...That makes you all...family..." Goliath smiled. Talon looked downwards and finally he did what I never imagined him to do, he smiled... Humbly, Talon shook his head. "Thank you Goliath...But it seems like I have my own clan...and my own family..."

I looked up at the kind face staring down at me and smiled with content. Because of my fractured ribs I couldn't fly for the time being...So Claw volunteered to carry me back to Elisa's apartment... so we could reveal the truth about Derek and the rest of our stories to her parents...I hope they were as accepting as their daughter... More importantly, I just wanted to get to my room so I could get the rest I needed to heal. I remembered feeling worried about Claw carrying me. Everytime he made contact with me was always when we were in some sort of fight... and his punches weren't exactly the most comforting thing... However, when he cradled me up in his arms... He was so gentle... and so unsure of himself. Constantly giving me worried looks if I as much as jerked in his arms... "I'm fine Claw..." I comforted as he gave me another concerned look. He did not take his eyes off me instead he just smiled. "You ready to meet Derek's parents?" I asked stroking his fur. He shook his head violently. "Yeah me too...Big guy...But I guess they have to be quite open minded...I mean, look at Elisa..." Claw still shook his head. I sighed. "Well at least all the tension between out clans have gone and..." I coughed as dust particles entered my nose causing me to cough. I growled as the cough caused my ribs to rattle violently. It was so painful... Claw immediately brought me closer to his chest. "I'm sorry..." I croaked. He shook his head. Gently he placed his large hand over my eyelids and shut them, his way of telling me to rest... Cuddling closer to his chest. I flattened my ears and fell asleep.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's voice: I'm sorry this took so long :( But I hope you enjoy it..**

I peaked out of my room and looked at the other mutates. Maggie was cuddling with Talon, typical... Fang was stuffing his face with food... typical...I giggled a little as Claw shuffled his feet uneasily, his ears flattened against his head. His eyes filled with panic. "Hey big guy..." I cooed settling next to him. His face bloomed into a fanged grin. He stood up so violently to let me sit he actually knocked the chair onto Fang's foot. "OUCH! Geez! Claw! You buffoon can't you see..." I growled at Fang. "He's sorry Fang... We'll be more careful...Right Claw?" I asked turning to the panicking gentle giant who nodded vigorously. Fang returned to stuffing his face. "Kids..." I heard him mutter under his breath. I snorted, look who's talking... I felt Claw tap me gently. "Yeah?" He pointed at the cast around my chest. Awww...Was he worrying about me? "I'm fine Claw...Really I am...Two days top, I'll be healed..." I reassured patting his shoulder. Just then Talon jerked up. "They're...They're here..." he stammered. I elbowed the shaking Talon. Seriously...This guy could handle crocks, robbers even gargoyles yet he can't bear to face his parents...Then again...I couldn't imagine facing my parents looking the way I did now... My parents would grimace at a homeless man with no legs on the street... What would they think about me now? I'm only humanoid in built now... The rest was all-animalistic... I knew I would scare them... I knew they'd reject me...I knew they would see me as a freak...Something to be caged and displayed... I closed my eyes, I'm not going to think about it...I'm not going to think about it...I heard the door creak open and Elisa strolling in followed by at least three other people. "No matter how much he's changed on the outside...He's still Derek on the inside..." I took a deep breath... "That's your cue...Derek..." I said gently. He shook his head..."I can't do this..." he whimpered... "I can't... I can't face them...Not like this..." he rumbled. To my surprise, it was actually Maggie who influenced him to finally do it. "C'mon Derek...You can do it...If they don't stand by you...We will..." she cooed. We all nodded. Even Fang... Taking a deep breath, Talon stepped out of the shadows...

"Mum? Dad?" I heard horrified gasps...I curled my lips... I could literally smell the fear they were experiencing. It hung above them like a cloud...Silence...The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife...I grabbed onto Maggie's hand...The both of us were literally shaking not from the cold but the anticipation... After what felt like a decade of silence, I heard a gasp of relief and Talon's chuckling. I stole a quick peek and smiled. Talon had his arms around what looked like his parents and a sister... Phew...Looks like open mindedness was a trait in the Maza family... Thank God for that...Hand in hand... The rest of us strolled out. "Mum...Dad...Beth...These are my friends..." Talon said gesturing at us. I forced a smile as I felt they're judgmental eyes travel across my body taking in my alien appearance, fear still emanating from their bodies...Especially from the one called Beth... "So Derek, do your friends have names?" his father coughed awkwardly. I'm Fang! Fang said arrogantly. Talon coughed. "Yes that's Fang, and that's Claw, he's mute... This beautiful lady is Maggie and that's..." "Dahlia...I'm Dahlia..." I said shakily. Silence... I felt my tail swing back and fro nervously... Its been so long since I've had any human contact...Well apart from Elisa but that doesn't count... "Were you all human?" Beth asked bluntly... ooh touchy subject...I looked at Maggie expecting her to burst into tears any moment now but... "Yes we all were..." she replied simply with a gentle smile. "Then..." "Beth!" an older woman chided. She managed an apologetic smile in my direction. "Don't mind her...She's just stumped like the rest of us..." I lowered my ears. This was so hard! Since when did basic human contact become so hard? Maybe this was a mistake... "So Derek, mind explaining to me why you are all like this?" his father asked getting to the point... So that's where Elisa got it from... A low growl sounded from Talon's throat... That didn't stop his father from pushing for answers. "You all might want to sit down..." he said finally.

Well no one wants to hear my angsty story again so I'm just going to cut to the chase. Talon reluctantly told his parents the whole story, starting from when he quit his job as a cop all the way until our confrontation with Xanatos. I squirmed uncomfortably in my seat. This wasn't exactly a welcoming scenario; in fact the tension in the air was so thick. You could cut it with a knife. I could see the hate building in Talon's father. He brow was knitted, his fists clenched, the lines of his face practically glowing with hate... When the story was over. He got up, knocking over the chair. "Dad? You ok?" Elisa asked in alarm as her father stride to the door. "No...No, I'm going to kill that son of a bitch..."


	19. Chapter 19

Hello readers...I'm sorry about the long wait for the story but seriously I'm stuck...I have no idea how to continue it... Thats why I am asking for you guys for ideas...Please pm me and I'll consider your ideas and produce the next chapter as quick as possible...Thank you :D


	20. Chapter 20

Author's voice: Sorry for the short chappie but I thought you'd guys waited long enough for this...Sorry about it... Enjoy and review :)

"Whoa...Someone's touchy..." I mumbled as both Talon and Elisa had to restrain their father from breaking down the door. "Peter please...Be rational..." Elisa's mother begged as she led him back to the sofa. "Rational? RATIONAL? My son was mutated for a man's sick obsession and you want me to act rational?!" he cried throwing his hands in the air. "Dad please...It's cool..." Talon reasoned while gesturing to himself. "No son, it is not cool! I mean..." "Dad please...I'm still me... They are still them...We haven't changed...We're still the same people..."Talon protested. I hung my head. Was I really the same person? The human Dahlia Carter was no more than a distant memory to me now... I had changed so much... and I didn't mean physically...I meant psychologically...I don't ever remember being so passive aggressive, and it was scary that whenever I did something to protect someone or do some other good deed, I felt good, as if I were on cloud 9...It was terrifying I mean, it was like ever time I did a good thing...I'd feel like I was on drugs due to how overjoyed I get...I'm not some kind of dog... I shouldn't be so...so basic...To try and please everyone...Jesus... Worse, I DON'T EVER REMEMBER BEING SO FLIRTACIOUS... I mean sure I crushed on multiple boys before but... This is the first time...I...I... I felt Claw place his paws on my shoulder. "I..I gotta go..."

Ignoring everybody. I expand my wings and literally threw myself into the air. I heard flapping wings behind me and willed myself to fly faster but no matter how fast I tried to go, the flapping behind me just didn't stop. Unable to take it anymore, I turned around. "STOP FOLLOWING ME!" escaped my throat. I covered my mouth in horror as I saw Claw's face turn from one of surprise to hurt. "I'm sorry big guy...I just need some time alone...To think...Please..." Claw nodded and then turned back and flew away without saying a word. Ok, he's mute he can't say anything but when I said he turned back and flew away without saying a word I meant he did it in a brooding and disappointed way. Terrific, now I feel like a champion ass hole... I buried my face into my hands...When did my life get this complicated? When and Why? Why me? What did I do to deserve this? Worse, I had no one to talk to about this... I mean yeah there were the other mutates...but Fang won't talk to me and frankly I think he and Derek like being this way. With Claw it'd be very one sided conversation and I'm pretty sure I'd have to start comforting him at some point. There was Maggie but she's too busy swooning over Derek, plus she just got over herself not being human, I don't want to kick start the whole unpleasant "I'm A MONSTER SITUATION" again... I am so alone...


	21. Chapter 21

Author's voice: Yay! Longer chapter! Sorry it took so long :( I hope I have redeemed myself here... Please review :D

I flew aimlessly over the city not knowing what to do or where to go... "HELP ME! SOMEONE HELP ME!" "SHUT UP!" My ears perked up. Scanning my surrounding I found the source of the noise... There...In the alleyway... Oh geez a girl is being mugged...Ok...I should do something...But then I'll be seen... Oh man...He just slapped her ... Holy shit... He has a gun! He has a freaking gun! He's pointing it at her... Rashly I started flying towards them... "Alright girlie...One more peep outta you and you're dead...You got it? One more..." "WHAM!" I landed right on top of the mugger, easily knocking him out and also causing his gun to skid on the ground... "Well that was easy..." I thought proudly only to be thwarted by screams of terror. Confused, I turned to face the victim.

I blinked in surprise... The victim...She was a teenager like me...Not just that...She even looked like me...Well the human me... They say that everyone has a twin out there...Well looks like I found mine... The same hair, the same built but the features were different. Her eyes were blue, mine were grey...She had a flatter nose and thinner lips but anyhow... Seeing her was like seeing my human self... "Are you ok?" I asked. "HOLY FUCKING SHIT! THE MONSTER IS TALKING TO ME!" the girl screamed. I reared back in shock... Monster? Monster? MONSTER? I...I just freaking saved her life... Gingerly I tried to approach her but to my horror she picked up the dropped gun and aimed it at my face. ...

"Don't move! Or I'll...I'll blow your head off!" the girl threatened the gun still aimed at my face. Shit... This is bad...Very bad...I do not want to be found tomorrow morning with my guts hanging out of my stomach because some deranged teenager got her hands on a gun...Jesus does she even know how to use it properly...Thinking quickly I opened my mouth to say something but she lost it...She got so terrified by my appearance that she actually dropped the gun and ran off screaming for help leaving me standing there dumbfounded.

I felt the pit of my stomach turn around...Literally...I gagged as I threw up on the ground, my system just unable to accept what had just happened... I felt horrible...Beaten... I wanted to fly after the girl...hunt her down... Grab her by the shoulders and shake her... I want to go right up in her face and scream at her. Tell her that I was once like her... I was once human...I had a life... I had a family...I was just another pretty raven haired girl without a single care in the world...I... I felt something stir in my grip. "Nnnn..." the mugger groaned. I watched him as his beady eyes travelled up my slender legs and up to my snarling feline face and then internal tears started flowing as I watched his face literally transform from one of confusion and then into absolute terror. "PLEASE DON"T EAT ME!" he begged. That's when internal tears became external. Too, pissed, hurt, dejected and confused, I just threw him downwards and took off...


	22. Chapter 22

Author's voice: Ok...After overwhelming response I've decided to plaster everyone's ideas together! :D Yay so no flames...Based on one of my favourite episodes, "the mirror". If the story is not 100% following the cartoon then I'm sorry and if you don't like it, don't read it... Reviews please! Review=Faster updates!

Well let's just say the next few days weren't easy, I drifted between suicidal and just completely not functional... Sometimes I just lay there doing nothing... Today was one of the days...I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling...Just stoning... The trio was always out patrolling, Hudson was always in front of the television...Goliath was Goliath... The mutates were out of the city... apparently they were relocating...WITHOUT ME! I mean not that I wanted to go but it would have meant the world if they asked...It was like they were excluding me! Like I wasn't one of them... Why would they do that?! I was one of them... Maggie...Claw... Claw...He hasn't even looked at me after I blew him off that night...It's official... No one wants me around...So what's the point of showing myself if I was just going to be dead weight? I wrapped myself in my wings like a blanket...

I groaned as I heard knocking on the door. "Dahlia?" I groaned louder. "Dahlia! Jesus Christ..."Elisa coughed as the dust in my room swirled around her. "Dahlia...Honey what's wrong?" "Elisa asked as she sat next to me rubbing my arm gently. "Nothing..." I lied. "You sure?" "Yes..." Elisa raised an eyebrow. "No..." I sighed, no point lying to a police detective. "Want to talk about it?" "No..." Elisa sighed and then looked observingly around my unkempt room. Silence... "Why are you shutting yourself down?" I looked up. "I'm not!" "Dahlia, honey, you are and I'm worried about you alright? Please... Stop isolating yourself away from everyone..." "Everyone doesn't care..." I growled. "No. I care. I care for you so please if you won't do it for the others do it for me..." My amber eyes met her chocolate brown ones. "Alright...Just for you..." I said unwillingly. Elisa wrapped me in a hug. After seeing how hard she clung to me, I hugged her back not wanting her to feel bad... After a few pats on the back she let go of me. I smiled, feeling a little better. "Thanks..." Elisa grinned "C'mon we have a special duty on tonight and I want you there as back up so get dressed! We need someone as fast as you..."

I shivered in my black-cropped top and denim shorts... "Hrrrrr hurry up Elisa..." I growled as my teeth chattered from the cold. The trio were still on patrol at another part of the city so it was only Goliath, Elisa and I... According to Goliath, we were up against someone called Demona... And from what I heard she was very very dangerous. My ears perked up as I heard glass shattering from inside the museum, about three seconds later a gargoyle, a female gargoyle came bursting out one of the windows. Excited, I swooped down and tackled her from my hiding spot. I attempted to pin her down...That didn't go well ... Before I even got a chance to pin her she had already kicked me off. She was good... I scrambled back onto my feet and expanded my wings in an attempt to make myself look more intimidating. We circled each other trying to look out for each other's mistakes, dying to see who was going to mess up first... and trust me, it wasn't going to be me...

The gargoyle or Demona curled her lip at me, like I was something truly disgusting... "Abomination!" she spat at me while her eyes started glowing a bright crimson color. I snarled back at her, my own eyes starting to glow with hate. Roaring she leaped at me, I gasped in shock by how strong she was, I hissed as she clawed at me wildly. I started panicking, she was very good, too fast to hit and to strong to be pushed off. I winced as her claws started to reach my neck...If they got any closer...I'd be dead...No...No... I closed my eyes as the tip of her claws brushed against my fur...


	23. Chapter 23

Author's voice: Thank you Trucking girl 1109 for reviewing! :D Other readers please start reviewing agin or I'm going to stop posting...I'm serious...Anyways this is based on OnyxTemplar's idea so no flames...

"Bang!" "Bang!" my eyes shot open. About time Elisa... I grinned as Demona turned her head, the momentary distraction Elisa created for me gave me enough time to stop Demona from killing me. Demona yelped in surprise as bright blue electricity started to crackle around my arms. With a loud roar, I unleashed the built up electricity and Demona went flying up in the air. "What are you?" she hissed as she got up. "Complicated..." I snarled attempting to get back on my feet. "You will pay for your impudence little one! I" "WHAM!" before she even got the chance to finish lecturing me, Goliath had already tackled her from the side. I watched as they tangled, snarling and hissing at each other both never quite gaining the upper hand. Elisa came running out from behind me. "Dahlia you're hurt!" she remarked as I stood up. "Huh?" it was then I noticed the warm substance trickling down my throat. I looked at my own throat... "Terrific..." I grumbled as I looked at the four gash marks on my throat. Not wanting Elisa to get all motherly I faked a smile. "I'm fine! C'mon! Goliath needs our help." I lifted Elisa up before she had any chance to protest and flew towards Goliath who like me, tried and was having trouble pinning Demona down. Demona must have seen my approach and used it to her advantage, with a yowl she kicked Goliath in the chest and sent him catapulting...Towards me...

I yelped in surprise as Goliath's massive frame came hurdling towards me, not able to dodge and knowing Elisa would probably not survive getting hit by a 500 pound rock hard gargoyle I quickly turned around and "BAM!" every nerve in my body screamed out in agony and I felt myself falling. I landed in a crumpled heap of fur and wings. "Oww..." I moaned. "Pathetic..." I heard Demona mock. I growled and built up electricity in my palms. I was going to blast that bitch to pieces... As I raised my arms she smiled and took off. Goliath and I expanded our wings, ready to go after her. "Wait, let her go for now..." Elisa commanded. "What?!" I asked in disbelief. "C'mon, it's not like we can bring her to jail without answering a lot of complicated questions..." Elisa reasoned. I growled in protest but a glare from Goliath shut me up. "At least she didn't get the mirror..." he mumbled.

Demona could barely contain her excitement. "So far all my plans have been thwarted, one after the other, but tonight, I take control..." Raising her arms she rang the sacred bell of Oberon thrice and chanted the summoning verse of the fairy folk. The mirror before her shimmered and glowed bright green before erupting, unleashing a bright flash. Demona smiled as she tightened her grip on the chains that held her new prisoner. The immortal trickster... Puck... "Hrrrr is this how you welcome all your guests?" Puck asked as he struggled wildly in his chains. "Only those who might turn on me..." Demona replied simply, knowing all to well of Puck's mischief. "Oh and you're not a guest...You serve the human, so now you can serve me..." she snarled. Puck rolled his eyes. This gargoyle could not be serious... "Serving humans is fun! They have a sense of humor...YOU have NONE!" he declared defiantly. Demona smiled. "Perhaps not Puck...But I have you..."

Puck sighed. "Well let's just get this over with shall we? How can I be of service? What do you want? Out with it! I haven't got all night..." he urged as he flew around the mirror. "You have all the time in the world if I wish it... Now Puck, I want you to rid me of the humans! All of them!" Demona commanded gleefully her eyes growing wide with anticipation. Puck raised an eyebrow. "Does this look like Aladdin's lamp? I have have limits after all... What is it you really want?" Puck asked cajolingly. The image of Goliath flickered onto the mirror. Puck snorted. "How quaint...After all this time you still carry a torch for him... Well I can make him love you again, piece of cake!" "YES! YES! THAT IS WHAT I WANT! IF YOU CANNOT RID ME OF ALL THE HUMANS, AT LEAST RID ME OF THAT HUMAN! ELISA MAZA!" Puck grinned. This was getting interesting but not interesting enough... "Did you say that human or that human? Never mind I'll figure it out..." he teased as he watched Demona work herself into a fury. "YES RID ME OF HER! I WISHED THAT HUMAN NEVER WALKED THIS EARTH..." Demona snarled her eyes filled with hate. Puck smiled, now that sweetened the deal... He knew just what to do...He wasn't going to kill this Elisa Maza, that would have been to easy... "This might be fun after all..." he said gleefully before unleashing a powerful blast of magic straight into the mirror.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Elisa declared walking up the stairs of the clock tower. The trio and I turned around from our game of Poker. "What's up?" I asked curiously. "Captain Chavez has just confirmed it. Demona was a decoy! Thieves took the mirror while we were chasing her around the park!" I shrugged not really seeing a problem. What harm could Demona do with an antique mirror? I mean it was not like it was a missile launcher... "So what's the deal with this mirror? What are we up against here?" Elisa asked leaning against the wall. " It's not just any mirror lass, that mirror belongs to Titania... Titania, Queen of the third race..." Hudson announced finally turning away from his television show. "Third race?" Elisa asked curiously. "Yeah you know? Humans, Gargoyles and Oberon's children!" Broadway said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I thought everybody knew about this..." Lexington commented scratching his head. "Yeah, that guy Shakespeare, he wrote a play about them..." Brooklyn chirped as his brow furrowed. I shook my head. I was so confused...

"Play? As in A Midsummer's Night Dream?" I asked remembering the names Titania and Oberon showing up somewhere in the text. "Yeah! Exactly!" Brooklyn nodded. "Scotsmen called them the fare folk, Vikings called them dark elves...They are changelings, shape shifters...and they're objects are vessels of great and dangerous power..." Goliath growled. "I don't get it...Why are you guys so worked up? I mean he's only a shape shifter...Right?" Elisa asked playfully. I raised an eyebrow. Elisa had no idea what she was talking about...I mean... She can walk down Fifth Avenue in broad daylight and no one will chase her down with pitchforks and torches... As understanding as she is...She has no idea what its like to be in possession of wings and tails...I wish she did... I wish I could shape shift... My depressing thoughts were once again interrupted by Elisa "Mirror or no mirror...Demona is no match for us together...We just have to wait until she makes her...ughh..." "Elisa?!" Goliath and I both exclaimed as a bright light surrounded her, pulling her upwards and then it shone with such force it actually threw Goliath and I backwards. Groaning and rubbing my eyes, my jaw went slack with shock...

Elisa lay in a crumpled heap before us. But she was different... She was so different... She was taller, her black shirt now only being able to cover her upper torso leaving her slim stomach exposed, her jeans were now only long enough to reach to her knee caps, but that was not the strange part. I managed a chocking noise as I noticed she was now in possession of three-toed, clawed, wolf like feet, a very prominent and long tail. Her legs were angled like an animal's with the heel jutting out. Elisa's hands had changed as well, and caped over her shoulders was a pair of bat-like wings, not unlike the ones the clan or I had. Her face didn't change... she now only had very high, pointed ears, her cheekbones more prominent and her eyes seemed to have gotten bigger and slanted. ... She was a...She was a gargoyle...


	24. Chapter 24

Author's voice: Not a single review? Really? Really? Cries in the corner... I'm serious please review I'm open to constructive criticism... Just review or I'm really going to stop posting...

Goliath was the first out of all of us to recover from the shock. Gingerly, he walked over to the unconscious Elisa and studied her from head to toe like she was a bomb about to detonate. Very carefully, he touched her right wing. Elisa groaned and we all took a couple of steps backs. "Gol...Goliath..." she muttered. "Elisa?" Goliath asked not really sure oh how to react. "Goliath what happened? I was saying something about Demona, a mirror, shape shifting and...there was this bright light and...Why are all of you staring at me?" Automatically all of us turned away. Ok...So she doesn't know... yet... "Um so Elisa...How do you feel?" I asked trying to break the tension. Elisa raised an eyebrow. "How do I feel? Ok I guess... I...ATCHOO!" I winced, my sensitive ears ringing like crazy. That sneeze, if you can even call it that sounded more like a cross between a loud shriek and a wail. I stifled a giggle as I watched Elisa's hand fly up to her mouth, her eyes wide with shock. "Did...Did I just do that?" The trio and I nodded while Hudson and Goliath shook their heads... With a suspicious glare, Elisa brought her hands up to her throat and squeezed it...

I buried my head into Brooklyn's shoulder barely able to contain my laughter as Elisa leaped up in shock from the sound she created by squeezing her throat. "What the..." She then noticed her four fingered talons and she let out an ear splitting scream causing all our ears to ring. "My hands...What happened?! I...huh?" she gaped as her new tail lashed out violently knocking over and breaking random pieces of furniture. "Ahhh!" she screamed again unintentionally expanding out her wings slapping both Goliath and Lexington in the face. "I'm sorry...Wooah..." she cried out before falling face flat onto the floor obviously not knowing how to balance on her new legs. "Elisa!" Goliath cried out before gently lifting her onto her new feet. "Elisa...Are you alright?" he rumbled. Elisa did not reply. "I'm...I'm...I'm..." I winced, she looked like she was about to get a panic attack. "Elisa? You alright?" I asked carefully touching her hands. She stopped stuttering. "I'm a gargoyle..." she whispered.

"I'm a gargoyle... I'm a gargoyle. WHY AM I A GARGOYLE?!" Elisa asked turning towards Goliath, panic written all over her face. "It must have been Demona... She must have used the mirror to summon one of Oberon's children and... " "I don't believe this..." Elisa groaned. I watched her sway and quickly caught her before she fell again. "Whoa easy..." I instructed. Elisa's ears lowered and then she managed a slow smile. "Thanks..." she said before taking a slow step, the sound of her new claws making contact with the floor echoed around the clock tower. "I'm alright..." she said as we all reached out. "This is new..." she joked as she took a few more steps, finally adapting to her new legs. "This is not new... With Demona...This is dangerous..." Goliath snarled. "Then we should go stop her!" Brooklyn announced. We all got ready and walked to the balcony. "Wait!" we all turned around. "I'm coming with you..." Elisa announced walking up to us. "Elisa..." "No big guy...She did this to me so I want in!" she demanded. I raised an eyebrow and smiled. "You know Goliath...She has a point...". Goliath sighed. "Alright...Come Elisa..." Elisa clumsily clambered onto the ledge next to him. "Whoa...Are you sure I can glide with these?" Elisa asked nervously as she looked down at the rushing traffic below her. Goliath managed a rare smile "Yes...Yes you can..." and with that they went hurtling down the building leaving the rest of us gaping in awe.

"That was weird..." I mumbled as I flew next to Brooklyn. "No kidding...But you know... Elisa's kinda hot for a gargoyle..." he said forming a toothed grin while Lexington and Brooklyn nodded smiling. I stuck out my tongue. I soooo did not hear and see that... But then again I can't judge them for saying that... They haven't seen any female gargoyles in eons... Literally... Seeing Goliath and Elisa land on a nearby building followed by Hudson, the trio and I followed suit. "What's wrong?" Brooklyn asked as we landed. Elisa shook her head. "Nothing...I got so overwhelmed I had to...HOLY...What was that?!" Elisa shrieked as a bright ray of light erupted from one of the skyscrapers. "It must be Demona! Come!" Goliath roared as he shot himself into the air followed by the trio, Hudson and I... "Hey wait!" Elisa cried, I turned around and nearly fainted in disbelief she...had rashly, out of fear of being left behind, threw herself off a 25 storey building...

"AHHHH!" Elisa screamed as she went plummeting downwards like a rock. Instinctively I dove after her and with a wild swipe, grabbed her outstretched hand or more accurately claw..."Hrrrrr..." I growled as I desperately tried to keep us both in the air...Jesus Elisa weighed a ton as a gargoyle... "You know you're brother never had problems learning how to fly..." I grunted and wheezed pushing my wings to their maximum limit as I flapped them continuously trying to get us back to a ledge. "Well he was a pilot..." Elisa called back looking at the ground in terror. "You mind flapping those wing of yours because supporting the combined body weight of you and me is totally not straining on my part..." I growled sarcastically. Elisa looked at herself uncertainly like she had no idea which muscles to use before expanding her wings and flapping them. I heaved a sigh of relief as I felt the both of us going upwards. Finally we flew high and near enough to a building ledge. With a grunt, I threw Elisa onto one of the ledges and collapsed next to her. "I sooo need to give you a crash course on flying..." I groaned.


	25. Chapter 25

Author's voice: Thank you for the reviews :D Here's the next chapter... Enjoy and keep reviewing

"See you weren't that bad..." I comforted as I hauled Elisa back onto her feet. "Dahlia get real...I crashed into a satellite dish..." she grumbled brushing rubble off herself. "Well you made it further than you're previous attempt..." I patronized. This was quite interesting, I've never seen Elisa like this before... She was usually so... I don't know, perfect? I mean she usually ran like a well-oiled machine knowing what to do and when to do it, looking at her struggle was like I said interesting, in an comforting way... "Oh no..." Elisa exclaimed as she leaned over a railing. " What? What's wrong?" I asked curiously. She sounded so worried... Elisa's hand flew to her mouth. Her dark eyes wide in surprise? Horror? I couldn't tell... "Look..." she whispered. My jaw dropped, "I don't believe it..." I gasped. I was literally mind blown... Below us on the streets of New York...Everybody...Everybody... Every man, woman and child... Was a gargoyle...

"What...Happened..." I asked still not trusting what I was seeing. "What happened was Demona..." I spun around with raised eyebrows as the clan swooped down one by one all but Goliath who hovered above us looking at the rooftops cautiously like he was afraid Demona was going pop out of one of the windows or somethingand attack us. "Demona did this? How and why?" I asked not believing that mad gargoyle could do...all of this... "She did not do this, in her arms...She held one of Oberon's children..." Goliath growled as he rubbed his chin, a sign that he was thinking hard. " Aye... The lass had called him...Puck..." Hudson declared as he placed the rescued mirror down. "Puck?" "But in Shakespeare play...Puck was just a harmless trickster..." Elisa said voicing my thoughts exactly. "What happened down there was not harmless... It was..." Before Goliath could finish, bright green lights shot of the mirror...

One of those lights hit me, surrounded me, engulfed me... I screamed out in agony...The pain was unbearable... UNBEARABLE! It was like lava pouring down my flesh, like someone had doused me in kerosene and set me on fire. It was like Sevarius injecting me with the mutagen again, only the metamorphosis was ten times faster than the previous one... After what felt like hours, the pain subsided to a shimmer and I collapsed face flat on the ground panting and heaving as sweat trickled down my skin... Wait skin? Skin? Scared beyond reason, I raised my hand to my eyes... It was furless, what remained was familiar ivory white flesh... "My...God..." I breathed. I brought my hands to my head, my feline ears that once twitched high on my head were gone... they were immobile and now under my hair... My soft hands then travelled to my face... I chocked... My muzzle was gone... I felt my thin nose, my prominent cheekbones, my soft lips... "Oh my God..." I looked around... My vision was duller, my hearing muffled, my sense of smell literally non existant... But it didn't matter! IT DIDN'T MATTER! I was human again! I WAS HUMAN AGAIN...


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's voice: Not a single review? Seriously? **

"Dahlia?" I turned around. Elisa was staring at me in shock... "Dahlia... Is that you?" She asked looking at me uncertainly. "What...What happened?" "A light blinded me and then I fell...I have never fallen before." We turned and saw a huge Conan the Barbarian look alike being helped over the ledge by three teenagers, while an old man with a long beard threw a sheet over the mirror. "We don't want anything else to come flying out of this thing..." he grumbled. I shook my head. "Hudson?!" I asked scared beyond all reason now... "Dahlia?" the teenagers asked. "Goliath?" the old man gaped. "What happened?!" we all shrieked at Elisa who stood there dumbfounded.

"You're human... All of you!" she exclaimed stating the obvious. "Human?!" the Conan the Barbarian look alike whom had to be Goliath bellowed "Hey that's awesome!" the white haired teenager fist pumped. "Brooklyn?" I asked. "Who else Dahlia?" he grinned before taking in my appearance... "Wow...You look...Different..." I snorted, "Have you seen yourself? You look..." "hot" was what I was going to say but what would Claw think? What would Brooklyn think? "Wow...This is weird...Why are we all we human?" Lexington asked running his finger through his new brown hair with curiosity. "I don't like this... We're supposed to be gargoyles..." Broadway whined as he searched for his missing wings with no avail. Elisa snarled, surprising all of us, "You don't like this...How do you think I feel?! I...I... THIS IS WRONG!" I glanced at Elisa; she looked almost close to tears. Broadway opened his mouth to retort but Goliath raised an arm "ALL OF YOU CALM DOWN!" he roared causing all of us to turn and look at him. Damn, even as a human he was terrifying...

"Elisa is right. WE are supposed to be Gargoyles and while the rest HUMAN... We must find Demona, the one named Puck, and set things right... COME!" Goliath ordered before charging towards the fire exit. I looked at the trio confused but followed anyhow while Hudson and Elisa followed suit with the mirror. "You know flying always seemed more glamorous than running when you're trying to save New York City..." I grumbled as sweat started to form on my brow. When I was mutated I had no sweat glands... Now that was ONE thing I missed... "Tell me about it...How do you humans run all day? It's exhausting..." Brooklyn grumbled. A hiss sounded behind us causing us to trip with surprise. We turned and saw Elisa with her eyes glowing bright crimson. "Um Hudson...Brooklyn? Why don't you guys run on ahead first..."

"Elisa you ok? You're scaring me..." I asked approaching her cautiously...She looked like she was gonna rip someone's head off...Literally and with those claws she could... "I..I don't know...I...I..." her eyes stopped glowing and returned to their normal chocolate brown... She looked confused and very shaken... I knew that look... She was having trouble... Trouble coping with being a gargoyle..."Hey it's ok..." I comforted hugging her gently. I couldn't change her back but I could at least make her feel better... I didn't bother asking what ticked her off. I knew... She was jealous that we all got to be human while she was still stuck as a gargoyle. Elisa struggled a little against my embrace trying to maintain her usual bad ass, stiff self but after a minute, returned the hug anyway... "C'mon, the sooner we find Demona, the sooner this mess will be fixed and the SOONER you'll be HUMAN again..." I said breaking apart from her. Elisa nodded and with newfound determination we continued running.

"AGHHH HUMANS! RUN! RUN!" gargoyles started to flee left and right as we approached them. "Not the reaction I was expecting..." I admitted running my fingers through my long hair. Yeah I was a human now...But if the people of New York were gargoyles, then they're afraid of us as humans? Like how they were afraid of us as gargoyles? What?! This was confusing... "Are ye sure this a good idea?" Hudson asked Goliath as he watched the fleeing gargoyles with what looked like amusement written all over his face. "Demona must have done this to make us more vulnerable to her attacks... Our only chance is to keep the battle here on the ground...Where her wings will be of no use..." Goliath analyzed. "So we need to get to lower ground..."I thought. An idea struck me. "Follow me!" I ordered as I made a dash towards an underpass. "Here!" I gestured as I braked in front of a statue. We were on the ground floor outside Grand Central Station...This should keep Demona quite "grounded"...

"Good Dahlia! Now... Unwrap the mirror!" Goliath commanded raising his arms dramatically. I rolled my eyes but my skepticism was cut short when bright laser beams shot of the mirror followed by a smirking Demona holding a huge ass gun in one hand and an elf? Pixie? In the other... I winced as she coldly threw the elf onto the ground Concerned I ran to him and shook him. "Are you ok?" I asked worriedly knowing first hand the number Demona's abuse could do to your body. The elf grinned cheekily, his eyes twinkling. "I will be my lovely maiden..." he teased planting a soft kiss on my cheek before shooting up into the air like a rocket, leaving me squatting there flabbergasted.


End file.
